Baldcypress response to increased water levels, Caddo Lake, Louisiana-Texas

Klimas, Charles V.

doi:10.1007/bf03160800

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Cypress Creek in Kentucky, an impounded site with very low production levels (63 g m À2 yr À1 ) had dead trees, but nearby sites with normal hydrology and higher litterfall amounts did not have many dead trees (136-253 g m À2 yr À1 ) (Mitsch et al 1991). In Buttonland Swamp, individual T. distichum trees showed signs of decline during this study, e.g., the living portions of many trees were clustered near the trunks rather than at the tips of branches (Klimas 1987), although no large trees had died (Middleton, pers. observ.).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In baldcypress swamps, impoundment often causes trees to die (Penfound 1949;Harms et al 1980;Klimas 1987;Loftus 1994), and recruitment is extremely limited since seedlings cannot establish under water (Middleton 1999(Middleton , 2000. Eventually, such swamps become open water sites (Xiao et al 2002), presumably with very low primary production from trees.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Primary production in an impounded baldcypress swamp (Taxodium distichum) at the northern limit of the range

Middleton¹,

McKee²

2005

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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The ability of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamps to maintain themselves near the northern limit of their range depends on their levels of production, which is not only a response to climate but also to local environmental factors (e.g., impoundment). We asked if primary production was reduced under impounded conditions and if species' responses to impoundment were individualistic or more generalized. To examine long-term production trends in a permanently impounded baldcypress swamp, a 6-year study of leaf litterfall was conducted in Buttonland Swamp, Illinois, which had been impounded for 10 years before the beginning of the study. Buttonland Swamp is at the northern boundary of the baldcypress swamp region along the Cache River, Illinois, in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley of the United States. When the litter production of impounded sites was compared to those with natural hydrology in the same region, impounded sites had about half of the total litterfall of natural sites. Overall, leaf litterfall rates declined during the study (201 vs. 113 g m À2 yr À1 ), but the pattern was negatively correlated with water depth, which explained 97% of the variation in the data. Along the transect with the lowest mean minimum water depth (<0.5 cm), leaf litterfall decreased linearly over 6 years from 377 to 154 g m À2 yr À1 . Total leaf litterfall rates were lower at the other three depths (5, 43, and 49 cm mean minimum water depths) and remained below 200 g m À2 yr À1 throughout the study. Acer saccharinum, Nyssa aquatica, and Salix nigra were most responsible for the decline in total leaf litterfall. Amounts of leaf litterfall of T. distichum and Liquidambar styraciflua also generally decreased, while that of Cephalanthus occidentalis increased over time. Because species' responses to environmental factors such as impoundment are individualistic, models should be based on the responses of individual species, rather than on communities. Our study further suggests that the effects of climate change on impounded swamps may differ from those with natural hydrology, since impounded swamps already have reduced production levels. This finding is particularly relevant since the hydrology of the majority of the world's riverine ecosystems has been altered.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Primary production in an impounded baldcypress swamp (Taxodium distichum) at the northern limit of the range

Middleton¹,

McKee²

2005

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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“…The swamp forest at all sites was dominated by baldcypress, a species that typically occurs in sites subjected to frequent and prolonged flooding up to 3 m or more in depth (Wilhite and Toliver 1990), Very few additional tree species occurred within or near the study plots as the transition from pure baldcypress stands to mixed hardwoods was rather abrupt (Klimas 1987).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several distinct cohorts of trees were observed at the various sites and across Caddo Lake (see also Janes 1914, Klimas 1987; however, heart rot made age estimation impossible for many trees (Table 1).…”

Section: Stand Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-term growth trends of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) at Caddo Lake, Texas

Keeland

Young

1997

Wetlands

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Abstracf: Caddo Lake. sitnated on the border of northeast Texas a~ld northwest Louisiana, USA is a medium-sized take dominated by stands of batdcypress (Taxodium disrichum). A study of tree growth was initiated at Caddo Lake to address concerns about the health of the baldcypress ecosystem. The lake has been subjected to several dramatic water-level changes uver |he past 200 years, inc!uding waler-tevel stabilization fotlowi~g dam construction in 19t4. To assess the long-term growth trends of baldcypress trees and determine if a recent growth decline is occurring at Caddo Lake, increment cores were taken from 52 trees. The cores were erossdated and rings between the years t900 and 1992 measured to the nearest 0.01 ram. Most cores were characterized by high variation in yem-to-year growth. Although increasing growth rates were observed at most locations, trees from two backwater areas of the lake had recent growth rates lower than their long-term average. Growth amounts at these two sites were, however, within the historic range of variation. No recruitment was observed. From these data, we can conclude that the historic, extreme changes in hydrotogic reghne and the current stabilized water levels have trot resulted in an overall decline in baldcypress growth at Caddo Lake.

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Feedbacks in Human–Landscape Systems

Chin

Florsheim

Wohl

et al. 2013

Environmental Management

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This article identifies key questions and challenges for geomorphologists in investigating coupled feedbacks in human-landscape systems. While feedbacks occur in the absence of human influences, they are also altered by human activity. Feedbacks are a key element to understanding human-influenced geomorphic systems in ways that extend our traditional approach of considering humans as unidirectional drivers of change. Feedbacks have been increasingly identified in Earth-environmental systems, with studies of coupled human-natural systems emphasizing ecological phenomena in producing emerging concepts for social-ecological systems. Enormous gaps or uncertainties in knowledge remain with respect to understanding impact-feedback loops within geomorphic systems with significant human alterations, where the impacted geomorphic systems in turn affect humans. Geomorphology should play an important role in public policy by identifying the many diffuse and subtle feedbacks of both local- and global-scale processes. This role is urgent, while time may still be available to mitigate the impacts that limit the sustainability of human societies. Challenges for geomorphology include identification of the often weak feedbacks that occur over varied time and space scales ranging from geologic time to single isolated events and very short time periods, the lack of available data linking impact with response, the identification of multiple thresholds that trigger feedback mechanisms, the varied tools and metrics needed to represent both physical and human processes, and the need to collaborate with social scientists with expertise in the human causes of geomorphic change, as well as the human responses to such change.

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Baldcypress response to increased water levels, Caddo Lake, Louisiana-Texas

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Primary production in an impounded baldcypress swamp (Taxodium distichum) at the northern limit of the range

Primary production in an impounded baldcypress swamp (Taxodium distichum) at the northern limit of the range

Long-term growth trends of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) at Caddo Lake, Texas

Feedbacks in Human–Landscape Systems

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