Active or passive recovery? Discussing implications of vegetation diversity in unmanaged salt marshes

Almeida, Diana; Neto, Carlos; Costa, José Carlos

doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2017.04.018

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 31 publications

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“…The long‐term stability and resilience of ecosystems depends partially on the species' ability to recover and regenerate after disturbances, which is realised by colonisation and establishment (Loreau et al ., 2003; Leibold et al ., 2004). Plant communities in active sedimentary environments such as salt marshes, are subjected to frequent physical disturbance and benefit from this ability to re‐colonise disturbed areas (Adam, 2002; Leonardi et al ., 2016; Almeida et al ., 2017). Salt marshes are globally under pressure from anthropogenic developments and accelerated sea‐level rise (Adam, 2002; Gedan et al ., 2009; Kirwan et al ., 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal patterns of initial plant establishment in salt marsh communities

Lõhmus

Balke

Kleyer

2020

J Vegetation Science

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Questions How are dispersal processes, abiotic and biotic interactions determining the initial salt marsh plant community establishment and development when connectivity is different? We aim to answer this question by analysing the spatial and temporal patterns of plant establishment along an environmental gradient at two connectivity settings. Location Back‐barrier salt marsh and tidal flats of Spiekeroog, northwest Germany. Methods We established an experiment along a saltmarsh elevation gradient with bare sediment open for spontaneous colonisation on the natural salt marsh and on the experimental salt marsh islands built on the tidal flats approximately 500 m from the natural salt marsh for low connectivity. Plant establishment was identified from georeferenced photos at least monthly. Results Experimental islands as low‐connectivity plots had limited colonisation by annual halophytes that produced large number of small seeds. Number of individuals increased with higher connectivity at patches enclosed by salt marsh. Number of individuals was highest at the mid elevations whereas peak species richness was at the upper salt marsh. Temporal patterns of seedling emergence showed increasing plant numbers until the end of April followed by a gradual decline over the season at the pioneer and lower salt marsh zones. Upper elevations on the other hand had a stable number of low individual counts over time. Spatial clustering of plant individuals indicating possible facilitation was important at the initial stages of salt marsh development at pioneer and lower salt marsh elevation, but only early in the season. Conclusions Stochastic patterns of early salt marsh colonisation indicated that success of species colonisation was determined by seed properties, seed availability and environmental conditions mediated by elevation. We found indications that at the initial stages, further colonisation was supported by already colonised plants but shifted to avoidance later in the season.

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