Seedling recruitment of 11 wetland plant species along a water level gradient: shared or distinct responses?

Where many different plant species occupy an environmental gradient, the responses of their offspring to that gradient could show one of two patterns. All species could have similar requirements for maximum recruitment, in which case all would show maximum germination and emergence in the same region of the gradient ("shared responses"). Alternatively, each species could have different requirements for recruitment and therefore would show maximum recruitment in different regions of the gradient ("distinct responses"). The objective of this study was to test between these two alternatives in plants occurring along a water level gradient. Seeds of 11 wetland species were allowed to germinate in sand along a gradient of water depth, ranging from 10 cm above to 5 cm below the substrate surface. Scirpus americanus, S. validus, Sagittaria latifolia, Typha angustifolia, and Lythrum salicaria showed no significant response to this gradient, while Spartina pectinata, Polygonum punctatum, Bidens cernua, Acorus calamus, Alisma plantago-aquatica, and Eupatorium perfoliatum did. However, the six species in the latter group did not exhibit shared preferences along the water depth gradient. These different recruitment patterns were consistent with adult distributions in the field. Most species showed some recruitment at all water levels examined, suggesting that they have broad tolerance limits for water level in the recruitment phase of their life history.