Microbial community composition is affected by press, but not pulse, seawater intrusion

Tidal freshwater marshes (TFMs) are threatened by seawater intrusion, which can affect microbial communities and alter biogeochemical processes. Here, we report on Seawater Addition Long Term Experiment (SALTEx), a manipulative field experiment that investigated continuous (press) and episodic (pulse, 2 months/yr) inputs of brackish water on microbial communities in a TFM. After 2.5 years, microbial diversity was lower in press treatments than in control (untreated) plots. Sulfate reducers increased in response to both press and pulse treatments whereas methanogens did not differ among treatments. Our results suggest that microbial communities in TFMs are resilient to episodic events, but that continuous seawater intrusion may alter bacterial diversity in ways that affect ecosystem functioning. Scientific Significance StatementSea level rise and seawater intrusion threaten tidal freshwater marshes (TFMs) and the important ecosystem services they provide. Intrusion of seawater in TFMs can occur across a range of timescales, such as episodic events, like storm surges or drought, or continuous intrusion as a result of rising sea level. The effects of these stressors on TFM microbial communities are not well understood. Our multi-year field manipulation of brackish water inputs revealed that microbial communities were resilient to short-term pulses of salinity whereas continuous seawater intrusion led to reduced microbial diversity along with changes in relative abundance of key functional groups. Such alterations may diminish the ability of TFMs to sequester carbon and cycle nutrients.