Tidal regime influences the spatial variation in trait‐based responses of Suaeda salsa and edaphic conditions

Abstract

Tidal regime is recognized as a vital hydrological process in the restructuring of saltmarsh vegetation communities, resulting in differing edaphic conditions and ecosystem functions. Ample studies have focused on the context‐dependent effects of tidal disturbance on saltmarsh vegetation worldwide, particularly trait‐based responses to physical factors; however, to our knowledge, there are few insights into the edaphic conditions and responses of saltmarsh plants as well as plant–soil systems to tidal disturbance gradients in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), a temperate estuary in northern China. Here, we conducted field surveys and experimental fieldwork at four distinct sites that varied with tidal regime. Site‐specific effects of tidal disturbance on the annual saltmarsh foundation plant Suaeda salsa, as well as their edaphic surroundings, were analyzed. Our results showed that trait‐based responses largely explained the tidal disturbance impacts on S. salsa; moreover, the edaphic environment differed significantly among sites. We found that flooding frequency had a significantly negative relation to S. salsa total biomass, which consisted of above‐ and belowground biomass, and a significantly positive relation to height. In general, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus differed among sites, and these differences changed with the soil layers. In addition, there were some correlations between the soil environment and plant traits. Total organic carbon was linearly positively linked to the biomass of S. salsa at each soil depth. The carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry of the soil had a low correlation with that of the belowground biomass of S. salsa but had a significant correlation with that of the aboveground biomass of S. salsa. Our study suggests that spatial patterns of S. salsa and edaphic conditions in the YRD vary with tidal regime, therefore providing a basis for the context‐dependent conservation and restoration of coastal saltmarsh ecosystems, especially in areas with irregular, semidiurnal tides. Moreover, our findings highlight the importance of potential interactive effects between plant traits and tidal disturbances in regulating biogeochemical cycles, especially carbon sequestration, in coastal saltmarsh systems.

Growth, Stoichiometry, and Palatability of Suaeda salsa From Different Habitats Are Demonstrated by Differentially Expressed Proteins and Their Enriched Pathways

“…Metabolomics and proteomics have replaced other traditional molecular marker techniques and are often used as tools to determine the expression of vegetation characteristics ( Villate et al, 2021 ). Abiotic stress factors can directly affect the yield of plants and may cause apparent differences in plant characteristics, such as plant performance, growth, metabolism, and protein expression profiles ( Wu et al, 2012 ; Liu et al, 2015 ; Wang et al, 2019 , 2021 ). For example, in Ocimum basilicum L., the obvious effect of drought stress on phenylpropanoid biosynthesis increases the content of methyl tea phenol and methyl eugenol and then alters the expression profiles of leaves ( Mandoulakani et al, 2017 ).…”

Effects of ecological restoration on carbon sink and carbon drawdown of degraded salt marshes with carbon‐rich additives application

“…Generally, the S. salsa in the degraded coastal salt marshes was restored initially, but the plant biomass was still lower than at the SS reference wetlands (Figure 2). This might be due to the complex environment of the coastal salt marshes (Wang et al, 2019), and although PA and BC additions improved the soil physicochemical properties, the effects of hydrological and topographical conditions on S. salsa were not considered in this study. In addition, the sample collection time was only 21 months from the time of carbon‐rich additive application, which was not long enough for complete restoration, with less plant litter input and decomposition (Yu et al, 2022).…”

“…Generally, the S. salsa in the degraded coastal salt marshes was restored initially, but the plant biomass was still lower than at the SS reference wetlands (Figure 2). This might be due to the complex environment of the coastal salt marshes (Wang et al, 2019), and although PA and BC additions improved the soil physicochemical properties, the effects of hydrological and topographical conditions on S. salsa…”

Differential patterns and assembly processes of bacterial communities from distinct microhabitats in a subtropical estuary

“…The environment of the estuarine system is affected by the interaction of the sea and land (Wang et al, 2019). Previous studies have shown that physicochemical factors regulate the community diversity, structure and function of microorganisms (Ren et al, 2019;Sun et al, 2020).…”