Welcome to Plum Island Ecosystems LTER

The Plum Island Ecosystems LTER (PIE) is a long-term integrated research, education, and outreach program located within the Great Marsh, the largest expanse of intertidal marsh in New England. Our research is focused in the estuary and watersheds of Plum Island Sound in northeast Massachusetts. The Plum Island Sound estuary is a coastal bar-built estuary with extensive areas of productive tidal marshes fed by the Ipswich, Rowley, and Parker Rivers. Our goal is to be able to predict the long-term effects of sea level rise, climate change, and human activities on the health of estuaries, using PIE as a model for what is happening in estuaries worldwide. We seek to apply the ecological knowledge we gain to help in the management and development of policy that protects the natural resources of this and other estuaries in the U.S. coastal zone.

PIE is administered by T he Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory and is a member of the US Long Term Ecological Research Network funded by the National Science Foundation's Long Term Ecological Research Program.

The Great Marsh and connected waterways and watersheds that we study are located on N’dakinna (homeland) of the Pennacook, Abenaki, and Wabanaki Peoples past and present, whose presence in and spiritual connection to the region date back over 12,000 years – well before the Great Marsh formed. As the original stewards and ecologists of the aki (land), awan (air), nebi (water), olakwikak (flora), and awaasak (fauna), the alnôbak (people) knew and followed seasonal cycles of production, migration, and water flow - harvesting what they needed for food and shelter while managing land for growing crops and supporting game. This knowledge lives on in the alnôbak despite the dispossession of these lands and resources by colonialism. We honor Pennacook, Abenaki and Wabanaki Peoples, past, present, and future, and commit to support and include Indigenous environmental and educational initiatives in our work.

PIE Photo Contest 2022 Winners
"Sunset on the marsh after a long day of lateral exchange work” by Erin Johnson
How much carbon is stored by PIE marshes?
Spring growth affects annual variability. (photo J. Aber, S. Aber, V. Valentine)
Fiddlers on the Hoof
The fiddler crab (Uca pugnax) is on the move. (photo D. Johnson)
Don’t drain the swamp
Fluvial wetlands are hotspots for nitrogen removal. (photo C. Whitney)
How do microbes living deep in marsh soil respond to inputs of nitrogen?
When nitrate is made available in anoxic sediments, some microbes are ready and able to use it.
Mapping Land Change
An approach to summarize, visualize, and communicate changes in the landscape.
Students track long-term changes in a salt marsh invader
K-12 students monitor presence and abundance of Phragmites in the salt marsh.
It's the tortoise, not the hare
Erosion in salt marshes caused by waves (photo S. Fagherazzi).
The PIE Watershed Paradox
Do beaver ponds mitigate nitrogen loading from urban sprawl? (photo Wil Wollheim)
Marsh accretion vs. sea-level rise
Instrumented measure CO₂ fluxes (photo Inke Forbrich).
For PIE marshes, onward must be upward
Frequent flooding of Spartina caused by rising sea level may threaten its survival (photo S. Bond).
Microbial workforce: Who's clocked in?
how many of the millions of microbes are metabolically active?
Spatially-Explicit Fish Movements
River herring as a focus for watershed restoration activities. (photo Tim and Doug Watts)
Modeling Microbial Chemistry
How do natural microbial communities contribute to environmental chemistry? (photo Vallino)
Salinity & Nitrogen
Parker River Estuary has the largest range in salinity. (photo Hopkinson)
Tipping Points
Experiments showing the end-of-season standing biomass of S. alterniflora (photo Morris).
Scale matters
Flood waters go over bankfull, deposit sand, and scour the riparian zone of leaf litter. (Wollheim photo).

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Recent Publications