Marine oil spills continue to be a global issue, heightened by spill events such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the largest marine oil spill in US waters and among the largest worldwide, affecting over 1,000 km of sensitive wetland shorelines, primarily salt marshes supporting numerous ecosystem functions. To synthesize the effects of the oil spill on foundational vegetation species in the salt marsh ecosystem, Spartina alterniflora and Juncus roemerianus, we performed a meta-analysis using data from 10 studies and 255 sampling sites over seven years post-spill. We examined the hypotheses that the oil spill reduced plant cover, stem density, vegetation height, aboveground biomass, and belowground biomass, and tracked the degree of effects temporally to estimate recovery time frames. All plant metrics indicated impacts from oiling, with 20–100% maximum reductions depending on oiling level and marsh zone. Peak reductions of ~70–90% in total plant cover, total aboveground biomass, and belowground biomass were observed for heavily oiled sites at the marsh edge. Both Spartina and Juncus were impacted, with Juncus affected to a greater degree. Most plant metrics had recovery time frames of three years or longer, including multiple metrics with incomplete recovery over the duration of our data, at least seven years post-spill. Belowground biomass was particularly concerning, because it declined over time in contrast with recovery trends in most aboveground metrics, serving as a strong indicator of ongoing impact, limited recovery, and impaired resilience. We conclude that the Deepwater Horizon spill had multiyear impacts on salt marsh vegetation, with full recovery likely to exceed 10 years, particularly in heavily oiled marshes, where erosion may preclude full recovery. Vegetation impacts and delayed recovery is likely to have exerted substantial influences on ecosystem processes and associated species, especially along heavily oiled shorelines. Our synthesis affords a greater understanding of ecosystem impacts and recovery following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and informs environmental impact analysis, contingency planning, emergency response, damage assessment, and restoration efforts related to oil spills.

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盐沼植被影响和恢复的元分析：深水地平线漏油事件后的综合分析

海洋石油泄漏仍然是一个全球性问题，2010 年墨西哥湾深水地平线泄漏事件等泄漏事件加剧了这一问题，这是美国水域最大的海洋石油泄漏事件，也是全球最大的海洋石油泄漏事件，影响了 1,000 多公里的敏感湿地海岸线，主要是支持众多生态系统功能的盐沼。综合石油泄漏对盐沼生态系统中基础植被物种的影响，互花米草和罗梅里亚斯，我们使用来自 10 项研究和 255 个采样点的数据在泄漏后 7 年内进行了荟萃分析。我们检查了石油泄漏减少植物覆盖、茎密度、植被高度、地上生物量和地下生物量的假设，并在时间上跟踪影响程度以估计恢复时间框架。所有工厂指标都表明了上油的影响，最大减少 20-100% 取决于上油水平和沼泽区。在沼泽边缘的重度油污地点观察到总植物覆盖、总地上生物量和地下生物量的峰值减少约 70-90%。Spartina和Juncus均受到影响，其中Juncus受到更大程度的影响。大多数工厂指标的恢复时间框架为三年或更长时间，包括在我们的数据持续时间内不完全恢复的多个指标，至少在泄漏后七年。地下生物量尤其令人担忧，因为与大多数地上指标的恢复趋势相比，它随着时间的推移而下降，作为持续影响、恢复有限和恢复力受损的有力指标。我们得出结论，深水地平线泄漏对盐沼植被产生了多年影响，完全恢复可能需要 10 年以上，特别是在油污严重的沼泽中，那里的侵蚀可能会妨碍完全恢复。植被影响和延迟恢复可能对生态系统过程和相关物种产生重大影响，特别是在油污严重的海岸线上。我们的综合提供了对深水地平线石油泄漏后生态系统影响和恢复的更深入了解，并为与石油泄漏相关的环境影响分析、应急计划、应急响应、损害评估和恢复工作提供信息。