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Coastal wetlands provide numerous ecosystem services; yet these ecosystems are increasingly vulnerable to climate change stressors, especially excessive flooding from sea-level rise and storm events. This study highlights the important contribution of vegetation belowground biomass to marsh stability and identifies loss of vegetation as a critical driver of marsh collapse. We investigated the shear strength of salt marshes and unvegetated interior ponds using a modified cone penetrometer along a chronosequence of wetland marsh collapse (0 to 21 + years following pond formation) to characterize changes in the structural integrity of the marsh soil. Following conversion from vegetated marsh to open water pond, the...