{
  "id": 1798254,
  "title": "Plants could transform how scientists measure the climate benefits of tidal marshes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/plants-could-transform-how-scientists-measure-the-climate-benefits-of",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-18T20:50:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-climate-benefits-tidal-marshes.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Plants in tidal marshes could revolutionize the way scientists measure the climate benefits of these ecosystems, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Emily Wilson, a Boston University doctoral candidate, discovered that plant species are a far better predictor of methane emissions from tidal marshes than salinity, which has been the primary indicator for decades. Tidal marshes are significant natural climate solutions as they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store large amounts of carbon in their soils, but they also emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By identifying plant species as a robust proxy for methane fluxes, researchers and managers can estimate methane emissions across tidal marshes more accurately, providing a practical means of assessing their overall climate benefit. This discovery builds on a decade of research led by Robinson Wally Fulweiler, a BU professor of Earth & Environment and Biology, who found that plants reflect long-term environmental conditions and stand out as the primary factor influencing greenhouse gas emissions in tidal marshes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}