Vegetation Succession and Herbivory in a Salt Marsh: Changes Induced by Sea Level Rise and Silt Deposition Along an Elevational Gradient

Olff, Han; Leeuw, Jan de; Bakker, Jan P.; Platerink, R. J.; Wijnen, H.J. van

doi:10.2307/2960603

Cited by 250 publications

(406 citation statements)

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“…The study site presents a well-documented salt marsh chronosequence that has been calibrated using topographic maps, aerial photographs and monitoring permanent plots at different successional stages for over 20 years (Olff et al, 1997;Schrama et al, 2012). For this study, five successional stages were identified and estimated as 0, 5, 35, 65 and 105 years of succession (hereafter referred as 'Stage' followed by the corresponding year) in May 2012 (Supplementary Figure S1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Together this cause a natural increase in the base of elevation of the marsh. Over time, this natural sedimentation causes the island to progressively extend eastwards (Olff et al, 1997;Van Wijnen et al, 1997). As a result, a natural chronosequence of ∼ 8 km length has developed from west to east, representing over a century of terrestrial ecosystem succession (Supplementary Figure S1; Olff et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecological succession reveals potential signatures of marine–terrestrial transition in salt marsh fungal communities

et al. 2016

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Marine-to-terrestrial transition represents one of the most fundamental shifts in microbial life. Understanding the distribution and drivers of soil microbial communities across coastal ecosystems is critical given the roles of microbes in soil biogeochemistry and their multifaceted influence on landscape succession. Here, we studied the fungal community dynamics in a well-established salt marsh chronosequence that spans over a century of ecosystem development. We focussed on providing high-resolution assessments of community composition, diversity and ecophysiological shifts that yielded patterns of ecological succession through soil formation. Notably, despite containing 10-to 100-fold lower fungal internal transcribed spacer abundances, early-successional sites revealed fungal richnesses comparable to those of more mature soils. These newly formed sites also exhibited significant temporal variations in β-diversity that may be attributed to the highly dynamic nature of the system imposed by the tidal regime. The fungal community compositions and ecophysiological assignments changed substantially along the successional gradient, revealing a clear signature of ecological replacement and gradually transforming the environment from a marine into a terrestrial system. Moreover, distance-based linear modelling revealed soil physical structure and organic matter to be the best predictors of the shifts in fungal β-diversity along the chronosequence. Taken together, our study lays the basis for a better understanding of the spatiotemporally determined fungal community dynamics in salt marshes and highlights their ecophysiological traits and adaptation in an evolving ecosystem.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological succession reveals potential signatures of marine–terrestrial transition in salt marsh fungal communities

et al. 2016

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“…(Demment and Van Soest 1985, Van de Koppel et al 1996, Fox et al 1998, Mayhew and Houston 1999, and are highquality food for small herbivores, such as geese (Ydenberg andPrins 1981, Summers andCritchley 1990). A preference of geese for high-quality food in short canopies (Vickery 1999, Olff et al 1997, may explain goose preference for the 1 head ha 1 grazing treatments in autumn (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Effects Of Grazing Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Livestock grazing may also change the plant species composition of a salt marsh (Bakker et al 1993, Olff et al 1997 and with that the food availability for geese (Aerts et al 1996). Previous studies showed that the preferred food of geese differs between seasons.…”

Section: Effects Of Grazing Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This would make salt marshes unsuitable for grazing geese. Grazing management may retard the succession of a salt marsh (Olff et al 1997), preventing Elytrigia atherica from overgrowing a marsh. In this study we show that as long as livestock grazing retards succession, the exact grazing management has little effect on the distribution of geese in spring.…”

Section: Effects Of Grazing Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Short-term and long-term facilitation of goose grazing by livestock in the Dutch Wadden Sea area

et al. 2002

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Vertebrate Herbivory and Its Ecosystem Consequences

Oksanen

Olofsson

2018

Encyclopedia of Life Sciences

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Herbivory is a process where animals obtain energy and nutrients from vegetative plant parts (leaves, stems, etc.). Herbivory is called grazing, browsing or folivory, depending on the size of the herbivore and the type of plant tissue consumed. The consumption is actually performed by microbes in the digestive system. The role of the animal is to prepare the material and to provide a good environment for the microbes. This requires specialisations, making herbivores a distinct animal group. Vertebrate herbivory can change forests to heathlands or grasslands and influence the composition and species richness of the herbaceous vegetation. By maintaining open habitats, herbivorous vertebrates can increase the fraction of solar radiation reflected back to the space, especially at high latitudes and altitudes. Thus, vertebrate herbivory can also counteract global warming. Key Concepts Herbivory is the collective term for consumption of plants or vegetative plant parts by animals. Browsing is utilisation of woody plants by animals, normally referring to vertebrates. Grazing is utilisation of herbaceous plants by animals, referring to vertebrates and big, mobile invertebrates. Folivory is utilisation of photosynthetic plant tissues by small animals, normally referring to relatively immobile insect larvae. Heathland, in narrow sense, refers to treeless vegetation, dominated by ericaceous plants; in broad sense, it refers to all kinds of vegetation dominated by prostrate dicotyledonous plants. Grassland is treeless vegetation dominated by plants belonging to the families Poaceae (grasses), Cyperaceae (sedges and their relatives) or Juncaceae (rushes and woodrushes).

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Vegetation Succession and Herbivory in a Salt Marsh: Changes Induced by Sea Level Rise and Silt Deposition Along an Elevational Gradient

Cited by 250 publications

References 36 publications

Ecological succession reveals potential signatures of marine–terrestrial transition in salt marsh fungal communities

Ecological succession reveals potential signatures of marine–terrestrial transition in salt marsh fungal communities

Short-term and long-term facilitation of goose grazing by livestock in the Dutch Wadden Sea area

Vertebrate Herbivory and Its Ecosystem Consequences

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