Below‐ground biomass in healthy and impaired salt marshes

Ecological Research - 2004
R. Eugene Turner1, Erick M. Swenson1, Charles S. Milan1, James M. Lee1, Thomas Oswald1
1Coastal Ecology Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA

Tóm tắt

Twelve salt marshes in south Louisiana (USA) were classified as either ‘impaired’ or ‘healthy’ before a summer sample collection of above‐ and below‐ground biomass and determination of sediment accretion rates. The above‐ground biomass of plant tissues was the same at both impaired and healthy salt marshes and was not a good predictor of marsh health. However, below‐ground root biomass in the upper 30 cm was much lower in the impaired marshes compared to the healthy marshes. Compromises to root production apparently occur before there is an obvious consequence to the above‐ground biomass, which may quickly collapse before remedial action can be taken. The subsequent change in vertical position of the marsh surface may be equivalent to many years of accretion, and be irreversible within decades without considerable effort. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that it is the plant's below‐ground accumulation of organic matter, not inorganic matter that governs the maintenance of salt marsh ecosystem in the vertical plane. Reversing the precursor conditions leading to marsh stress before the collapse of the above‐ground biomass occurs is therefore a prudent management objective and could be easier than restoration.

Từ khóa


Tài liệu tham khảo

Boesch D. F., 1994, Scientific Assessment of Coastal Wetland Loss, Restoration and Management in Louisiana, Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, 20, 103

Britsch L. D., 1993, Land loss rates: Louisiana Coastal Plain, Journal of Coastal Research, 9, 324

Callaway J. C., 1997, Sediment accretion rates from four coastal wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico, Journal of Coastal Research, 13, 181

Chabreck R. H., 1972, Vegetation, water and soil characteristics of the Louisiana coastal region, Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, 664

Delaune R. D., 1994, Peat collapse, ponding and wetland loss in a rapidly submerging coastal marsh, Journal of Coastal Research, 10, 1021

10.2307/1351692

HarrisonE. Z.(1975)Sedimentation rates shoreline modification and vegetation changes on tidal marshes along the coast of Connecticut.MSc Thesis.Cornell University Ithaca New York USA.

10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0071:AACCIO]2.0.CO;2

10.4319/lo.1983.28.3.0494

10.2307/1351966

10.1126/science.214.4519.439

Milan C. S., 1995, Accumulation rates estimated from 137Cs activity: Variability in Louisiana salt marshes, Journal of Coastal Research, 11, 296

10.4319/lo.1999.44.3.0699

10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[2869:ROCWTR]2.0.CO;2

10.2307/2996208

SAS Institute, 1988, SAS/STAT User's Guide: Release 6.03 Edition

10.2307/1352716

Turner R. E., 1987, Causes of Wetland Loss in the Coastal Central Gulf of Mexico

10.2307/1351918

Turner R. E., 2001, Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology, 583

Turner R. E., 1995, Coastal Wetlands Indicator Study: EMAP‐Estuaries Louisianian Province – 1991

10.4319/lo.1976.21.2.0245

Thông tin
Thông tin xuất bản

Ecological Research

Thông tin tác giả