Long-Term Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on Plant Community Structure on a Coastal Barrier Island Dune Chronosequence

Day, Frank P.; Conn, Christine; Crawford, Edward R; Stevenson, Mark

doi:10.2112/1551-5036(2004)20[722:leonfo]2.0.co;2

Cited by 23 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Groundwater measurements on Hog Island are obtained with Campbell Scientific CS 450-L pressure transducers in wells constructed in 1990 (Day et al, 2004). Measurements are made every 15 minutes and then statistically summarized and reported hourly.…”

Section: Environmental Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thresholds of Change in Decomposition Rate along a Dune/Swale Transect on a Virginia Barrier Island

Graziani

Day

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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Graziani, D.J. and Day, F.P., 2015. Thresholds of change in decomposition rate along a dune/swale transect on a Virginia barrier island. Journal of Coastal Research, 31(1), 148-154. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The objective of the current study was to examine fine spatial scale variation in aboveground decomposition rate over a barrier island dune/swale gradient in relation to the ground-water-free surface, soil nitrogen, and associated ecosystem states in order to identify thresholds of process or state change. The litterbag study was conducted on the Virginia Coast Reserve-Long Term Ecological Research Site in Virginia, United States. Mean aboveground decay rate (yr À1 ) ranged from 0.339 (upper dune) to 0.699 (marsh/lower dune transition). The upper dune, marsh, and lower dune (Morella thicket side) had the lowest aboveground decay rates. The marsh edge, marsh/lower dune transition and Morella thicket exhibited the highest decomposition rates. Our results did not suggest that soil N content was a good indicator of state change or system process rates, whereas, distance to ground water demonstrated a significant relationship with aboveground decay. Relatively small (approximately 0.2-0.4 m) increases or decreases in elevation affected decay rates and community state. Free-surface thresholds that cause state changes or shifts in ecosystem processes provide the capability to project changes prompted by sea-level rise or shifts in other free surfaces over entire landscapes. Our results suggest that the ground-water-free surface is a good candidate for making such projections.

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Section: Environmental Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thresholds of Change in Decomposition Rate along a Dune/Swale Transect on a Virginia Barrier Island

Graziani

Day

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…The role of PPN may be an indirect one: although they seem to initially promote the decline of marram grass, this may be caused by secondarily invading organisms, and the decline itself therefore results from the combined effect of various agents in a disease complex (van der Stoel et al 2002). Alternatively, both abiotic factors, such as sand deposition (Maun 1997), nutrient (Willis 1965;Day et al 2004) and water availability (Seliskar 1995), and biotic factors, such as the beneficial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities, can be involved in the mitigation of Ammophila spp. degeneration, both in improving plant nutrition (Little and Maun 1997;Kowalchuk et al 2002) and in reducing nematode infection (de la Peña et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between nematodes and their microbial enemies in coastal sand dunes

et al. 2012

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European foredunes are almost exclusively colonised by Ammophila arenaria, and both the natural succession and the die-out of this plant have been linked to populations of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN). The overarching aim of this study was to investigate top-down control processes of PPN in these natural ecosystems through comparative analyses of the diversity and dynamics of PPN and their microbial enemies. Our specific aims were, first, to identify and quantify PPN microbial enemies in European sand dunes; second, to assess their life history traits, their spatial and temporal variation in these ecosystems, and third, to evaluate their control potential of PPN populations. This was done by seasonal sampling of a range of sites and making observations on both the nematode and the microbial enemy communities in rhizosphere sand. Nine different nematode microbial enemies belonging to different functional groups were detected in European sand dunes. Their high diversity in these low productivity ecosystems could both result from or lead to the lack of dominance of a particular nematode genus. The distribution of microbial enemies was spatially and temporally variable, both among and within sampling sites. Obligate parasites, either with low host-specificity or having the ability to form an environmentally resistant propagule, are favoured in these ecosystems and are more frequent and abundant than facultative parasites. Three microbial enemies correlated, either positively or negatively, with PPN population size: Catenaria spp., Hirsutella rhossiliensis and Pasteuria penetrans. Microbial-enemy supported links in the food-web may be involved in the control of PPN populations through indirect effects. The endospore-forming P. penetrans was the most successful top-down control agent, and was implicated in the direct control of Meloidogyne spp. and indirect facilitation of Pratylenchus spp. Overall, our findings suggest strong and diverse top-down control effects on the nematode community in these natural ecosystems.

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“…The contrasting biotic responses in this habitat suggest that other important ecological processes could be occurring there on shorter timescales, namely indirect facilitation (Connell, 1990). In this case, shading might directly influence the survival of several salt-tolerant dominant species (decreasing species richness) by reducing local salinity (Bertness and Hacker, 1994), which would subsequently permit the extensive growth of a competitively subordinate species (increasing vegetation cover) (Day et al, 2004;Pennings and Callaway, 1996). In the backdune habitat, shading served to significantly reduce species richness but did not appear to play a role in modifying dune vegetation cover.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Species Interactions as Drivers of Vegetation Change on a Barrier Island

Monge

Gornish

2015

Journal of Coastal Research

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Monge, J.A. and Gornish, E.S., 2015. Positive species interactions as drivers of vegetation change on a barrier island.Positive species interactions have been shown to occur in a variety of plant systems, and the importance of these interactions is expected to vary with resource availability and abiotic stress. The processes by which these types of relationships operate and influence plant communities in coastal environments, however, are not fully understood. Positive species interactions were observed in areas of St. George Island, Florida, shortly after transplanting dune species for a restoration experiment designed to encourage the growth of foredune, interdune, and backdune vegetation. The dune habitats in St. George are subject to abiotic stresses that vary in type and magnitude, and the environmental factors responsible for ameliorating these conditions and encouraging positive vegetation change operate differently across these areas. We (1) investigated if transplants encouraged positive changes in vegetation across dune habitats, (2) determined whether disturbance (through transplanting) played a role, and (3) tested environmental factors involved in positive interactions to explain the changes in vegetation observed across dune habitats. The presence of transplants positively modified vegetation (e.g., species richness or cover) across all dune habitats. Experimental disturbance had no strong overall positive effect on vegetation change. Shading and soil moisture redistribution had differential effects on vegetation change among habitats, suggesting that these environmental factors interact with the abiotic characteristics unique to each dune habitat in complex ways. Our results suggest that experimentation over a longer time scale might be required to fully understand the extent at which positive interactions affect vegetation patterns along stressful environmental gradients.

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Long-Term Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization on Plant Community Structure on a Coastal Barrier Island Dune Chronosequence

Cited by 23 publications

References 33 publications

Thresholds of Change in Decomposition Rate along a Dune/Swale Transect on a Virginia Barrier Island

Thresholds of Change in Decomposition Rate along a Dune/Swale Transect on a Virginia Barrier Island

Interactions between nematodes and their microbial enemies in coastal sand dunes

Positive Species Interactions as Drivers of Vegetation Change on a Barrier Island

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