CARBON CONTENT OF SEDIMENT IN PIERMONT MARSH, HUDSON RIVER ESTUARY

Piermont Marsh is located 25 miles north of New York City on the west bank of the Hudson River and is one of four marshes in the Hudson Valley protected as part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve. Marsh peats like those in Piermont provide an extensive record of hydrological and biological variability. For this study we sampled along a total of 11 transects. Five transects reach from the Hudson River, Tallman Mountain, Crumkill Creek, and two at the unofficially named Tidal creek, towards the interior of the marsh. At the interior three more transects were created. The first trending from “Pool 1” northeastward, terminating in a Spartina patens meadow. The second is from the S. patens meadow west toward Tallman Mountain. The third transect runs from Pool 1, southwest through Pool 2, to Pool 3. Further southwest two transects were established from Tallman Mountain terminating at the Hudson River. A final transect is located at the southernmost tidal creek, Eel Creek. Down-core, surface sediment, and vegetation samples were taken along these various transects. This data allows an in depth understanding of the carbon storage across the marsh surface and in distinct vegetation types. We measured organic matter by Loss-On-Ignition (LOI) and bulk density of sediments from the marsh surface and 2-meter sediment cores. Results show that carbon storage is greater where water is abundant; this is also reflected in down-core samples. A spatial contour map shows us how water and carbon % is greater at the interior of the marsh and decreases towards the banks. Using the Craft et al. formula for calculating LOI % and Carbon % the individuality within each region is evident. A combination of S. patens and Phragmites australis has a higher carbon % than a combination of Typha angustafolia, Scirpus americanus, and Hibiscus palustris. We also collected sediment samples along two transects that vary in proximity to salt pannes. Overall, we found that there is no significant difference in carbon content between the two transects.