Soil organic carbon and nitrogen storage represent important ecosystem services provided by salt marshes. To test the importance of vegetation on soil properties, we measured organic carbon, total nitrogen, and belowground biomass in two southern California salt marshes. In both marshes, cores were collected from areas which differed in dominant vegetation cover prior to the restoration of tidal influence. There were no differences in organic carbon or total nitrogen density between vegetation classes at either site; however, a relationship between belowground biomass and soil organic carbon suggests that vegetation may influence soil properties.
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