Coastal forests sequester and store more carbon than their terrestrial counterparts but are at greater risk of conversion due to sea level rise. Saltwater intrusion from sea level rise converts freshwater-dependent coastal forests to more salt-tolerant marshes, leaving ‘ghost forests’ of standing dead trees behind. Although recent research has investigated the drivers and rates of coastal forest decline, the associated changes in carbon storage across large extents have not been quantified. We mapped ghost forest spread across coastal North Carolina, USA, using repeat Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) surveys, multi-temporal satellite imagery, and field measurements of aboveground biomass to quantify changes in aboveground carbon. Between 2001 and 2014, 15% (167 km 2 ) of unmanaged public land in the region changed from coastal forest to transition-ghost forest characterized by salt-tolerant shrubs and herbaceous plants. Salinity and proximity to the estuarine shoreli...

中文翻译：

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随着海平面上升，地上的碳损失与幽灵森林的扩散有关

沿海森林的固存和碳储存量比陆地森林多，但由于海平面上升，其转化的风险更大。海平面上升带来的盐水入侵将依赖淡水的沿海森林转变为更具耐盐性的沼泽地，而留下的死木却成了“鬼森林”。尽管最近的研究已经调查了沿海森林衰退的动因和速度，但在很大程度上仍未量化碳储存的相关变化。我们使用重复的光检测和测距（LiDAR）调查，多时相卫星图像以及地上生物量的野外测量来绘制分布在美国北卡罗来纳州沿海的幽灵森林，以量化地上碳的变化。在2001年至2014年之间，该地区15％（167 km 2）的未经管理的公共土地从沿海森林变为以耐盐灌木和草本植物为特征的过渡鬼魂森林。盐度和靠近河口海岸的距离