scholarly journals Plant Community Establishment in a Coastal Marsh Restored Using Sediment Additions

Wetlands ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 877-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Howard ◽  
Patricia S. Rafferty ◽  
Darren J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Coastal Marsh ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Sediment Addition ◽  
Treatment Comparisons ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons ◽  
Vegetative Spread

Abstract A goal of wetland restoration is the establishment of resilient plant communities that persist under a variety of environmental conditions. We investigated the role of intraspecific and interspecific variation on plant community establishment in a brackish marsh that had been restored by sediment addition. Plant growth, sediment accretion, and surface elevation change in planted, not-planted, and nearby reference sites (treatments) were compared. Four perennial macrophytes were planted: Bolboschoenus robustus, Distichlis spicata, Phragmites australis, and Schoenoplectus californicus. There was 100% survival of the planted species, and all exhibited rapid vegetative spread. Intraspecific variation in stem height and cover was identified, and interspecific comparisons also indicated differences in species cover. Treatment comparisons revealed that final total cover at not-planted sites was equivalent to that at reference sites, and was highest at planted sites where P. australis became dominant. Species richness was initially highest at the reference sites, but final richness was equivalent among treatments. Soil surface elevation was greater at planted compared to not-planted and reference sites. Because of the rapid cover and increased surface elevation generated by planted species, the resiliency of restored coastal marshes may be enhanced by plantings in areas where natural colonization is slow and subsidence is high.

Soil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 847 (4) ◽  
pp. 1087-1106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Howard ◽  
Andrew S. From ◽  
Ken W. Krauss ◽  
Kimberly D. Andres ◽  
Nicole Cormier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Vegetation Shifts

Topographic and Soil Surface Effects on Gypsophile Plant Community Patterns in Central Mexico

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Meyer ◽  
Edmundo Garcia-Moya ◽  
Luz del Carmen Lagunes-Espinoza
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Effects ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Community Patterns

SEEDS OBTAINED BY VACUUMING THE SOIL SURFACE AFTER FIRE COMPARED WITH SOIL SEEDBANK IN A FLATWOODS PLANT COMMUNITY

2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Kalmbacher ◽  
Nicoletta Cellinese ◽  
Frank Martin
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Seedbank

Interspecific variation in bulk tissue, fatty acid and monosaccharide δ13C values of leaves from a mesotrophic grassland plant community

2008 ◽  
Vol 69 (10) ◽  
pp. 2041-2051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer A.J. Dungait ◽  
Gordon Docherty ◽  
Vanessa Straker ◽  
Richard P. Evershed
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Δ13c Values ◽  
Tissue Fatty Acid ◽  
Bulk Tissue

Ecological correlates of mate fidelity in two Arctic-breeding sandpipers

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (11) ◽  
pp. 1948-1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett K Sandercock ◽  
David B Lank ◽  
Richard B Lanctot ◽  
Bart Kempenaers ◽  
Fred Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Survival Rates ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Breeding Dispersal ◽  
Mate Fidelity ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Local Survival ◽  
Mate Change ◽  
Western Sandpipers ◽  
Interspecific Comparisons ◽  
Semipalmated Sandpipers

Monogamous birds exhibit considerable interspecific variation in rates of mate fidelity between years, but the reasons for this variation are still poorly understood. In a 4-year study carried out in western Alaska, mate-fidelity rates in Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla; mate fidelity was 47% among pairs where at least one mate returned and 94% among pairs where both mates returned) were substantially higher than in Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri; 25 and 67%, respectively), despite the similar breeding biology of these sibling species. Divorce was not a response to nesting failure in Western Sandpipers, and mate change had no effect on the reproductive performance of either species. Nor were mate-fidelity rates related to differential rates of breeding dispersal, because the species did not differ in site fidelity. Reunited pairs and males that changed mates showed strong site tenacity, while females that changed mates moved farther. Differences in local survival rates or habitat are also unlikely to explain mate fidelity, since the two species did not differ in local survival rates, ϕ (Western Sandpipers: ϕ –hat = 0.57 ± 0.05 (mean ± SE), Semipalmated Sandpipers: ϕ –hat = 0.66 ± 0.06), and they bred in the same area, sometimes using the same nest cups. Although we were able to reject the above explanations, it was not possible to determine whether mate retention was lower in Western Sandpipers than in Semipalmated Sandpipers because of interspecific differences in mating tactics, time constraints imposed by migration distance, or a combination of these factors. Western Sandpipers exhibited greater sexual size dimorphism, but also migrated for shorter distances and tended to nest earlier and more asynchronously than Semipalmated Sandpipers. Finally, we show that conventional methods underestimate divorce rates, and interspecific comparisons may be biased if breeding-dispersal and recapture rates are not considered.

Topographic and soil surface effects on gypsophile plant community patterns in central Mexico

1992 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Meyer ◽  
Edmundo García-Moya ◽  
Luz del Carmen Lagunes-Espinoza
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Effects ◽  
Central Mexico ◽  
Community Patterns

Composition of prairie plant communities on productive versus unproductive sites in wet and dry years

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1635-1644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon K. Piper
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Restoration Ecology ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Total N ◽  
Aboveground Production ◽  
Grass Biomass ◽  
Natural Productivity

A natural productivity gradient was used to test questions about plant species composition, diversity, and sensitivity to environmental change of prairie vegetation within the tallgrass region. From 1986 to 1992 I monitored seasonal net aboveground production and species composition at four sites with soils that differed in texture and percent organic matter, pH, and concentrations of NH4, total N, K, Ca, Mg, and SO4. Four years of the survey featured above normal precipitation and 3 were drought years. August standing crop averaged 566 ± 307, 419 ± 143, 268 ± 158, and 232 ± 148 g ∙ m−2 at the four sites. Production generally increased with soil fertility (i.e., percent organic matter, total N, and K) and precipitation. The two more productive sites featured higher percentages of grass biomass, but legumes were rare. The site with the lowest soil N supported the consistently highest legume biomass and lowest grass biomass among sites. The least productive site displayed the highest percentage of composites. Species evenness, but not richness, was inversely related to August biomass for all sites. There were significant differences in production across years, as well as in percentages of grass, legume, and composite biomass. Total plot richness ranged from 24 to 40 species sampled per year at site 2 to 51 –53 species at site 4, and tended to decline in the dry year 1989. Poor soils, although less productive overall, appear to prevent dominance by tall grasses and thereby maintain relatively more diverse spring and summer floras. Increased light availability near the soil surface probably enables the persistence of low-growing plants. Evenness, but not richness, varied among sites. The patterns of plant community composition have implications for restoration ecology as well as the design of prairielike perennial grain mixtures. Key words: diversity, evenness, plant community, prairie, soil type, variability.

scholarly journals Sea level and turbidity controls on mangrove soil surface elevation change

2015 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E. Lovelock ◽  
Maria Fernanda Adame ◽  
Vicki Bennion ◽  
Matthew Hayes ◽  
Ruth Reef ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Elevation Change ◽  
Mangrove Soil ◽  
Surface Elevation Change

scholarly journals Plant Community Structure within a Reclamation Field Trial and Forested Reference Sites in a Post-Mine Environment

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 776
Author(s):  
Sean B. Rapai ◽  
Brianna Collis ◽  
Thomas Henry ◽  
Kimberly Lyle ◽  
Steven G. Newmaster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Field Trial ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Plant Functional Groups ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Additional Reference

Early successional plant community assemblage within a reclamation field trial at the Detour Lake Mine in northeastern Ontario is assessed, and compared with reference forested and historically reclaimed sites. The reclamation field trial examines eight amendment treatment combinations that include treatments with a winter kill cover crop of oats, fertilizer, biosolids, peat, and combinations thereof. The objectives of this study are to: (1) Investigate how soil amendments influence plant functional group establishment and growth in mine overburden; and (2) Explore the amendment properties that best support the establishment and growth of a plant community that resembles the baseline reference sites. Currently, the presence of non-native species and a dominant woody plant community explains the largest proportion of variance between the forested upland and lowland reference sites and all reclaimed sites. Similar to non-native species, graminoids were absent from the upland forested reference sites. The difference in the graminoid community explains much of the variance between the forested reference sites and all reclaimed sites. The cumulative additions of fertilizer and peat increased alpha diversity of non-native and graminoid plants within the amendment treatments, which had greater alpha diversity of these plant functional groups than the forested reference sites. Within the amendment treatments, non-native and graminoid alpha diversity was initially greater in the nutrient treatments, but by 2019 there was no significant difference in non-native or graminoid alpha diversity between amendment treatments. The results indicate that applications of nutrients through fertilizer or biosolids may increase graminoid alpha diversity and abundance within reclamation units in year 1. The results also confirm that the vascular plant community composition present within the historically reclaimed sites and amendment treatments does not resemble the forested reference sites. The plant community present within the amendment treatment sites is best described as early successional, with the presence of non-native herbaceous legumes dominating the historically reclaimed sites. Despite this, the results indicate that fertilizer and biosolids-based treatments have developed a vascular plant community, excluding woody species that is more similar to the forested reference sites than the peat-based treatments. Further research and long-term monitoring are needed to determine which amendment treatment will best support a plant community that resembles the forested reference sites. In addition, future studies of this nature might consider including wildfire affected and post-harvested forest stands as additional reference sites, to better capture possible plant community trajectories of a severely disturbed environment.

scholarly journals Water storage change estimation from in situ shrinkage measurements of clay soils

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 13117-13154 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. te Brake ◽  
M. J. van der Ploeg ◽  
G. H. de Rooij
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Storage ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Soil Water Storage ◽  
Soil Layers ◽  
Shrinkage Curve ◽  
Elevation Changes ◽  
Storage Change

Abstract. Water storage in the unsaturated zone is a major determinant of the hydrological behaviour of the soil, but methods to quantify soil water storage are limited. The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of clay soil surface elevation change measurements to estimate soil water storage changes. We measured moisture contents in soil aggregates by EC-5 sensors, and in volumes comprising multiple aggregates and intra-aggregates spaces by CS616 sensors. In a prolonged drying period, aggregate-scale storage change measurements revealed normal shrinkage for layers ≥ 30 cm depth, indicating volume loss equalled water loss. Shrinkage in a soil volume including multiple aggregates and voids was slightly less than normal, due to soil moisture variations in the profile and delayed drying of deeper soil layers upon lowering of the groundwater level. This resulted in shrinkage curve slopes of 0.89, 0.90 and 0.79 for the layers 0–60, 0–100 and 0–150 cm. Under a dynamic drying and wetting regime, shrinkage curve slopes ranged from 0.29 to 0.69 (EC-5) and 0.27 to 0.51 (CS616). Alternation of shrinkage and incomplete swelling resulted in an underestimation of volume change relatively to water storage change, due to hysteresis between swelling and shrinkage. Since the slope of the shrinkage relation depends on the drying regime, measurement scale and combined effect of different soil layers, shrinkage curves from laboratory tests on clay aggregates require suitable modifications for application to soil profiles. Then, the linear portion of the curve can help soil water storage estimation from soil surface elevation changes. These elevation changes might be measurable over larger extents by remote sensing.

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