Wetland Plant Community Responses to the Interactive Effects of Simulated Nutrient and Sediment Loading: Implications for Coastal Restoration Using Mississippi River Diversions

Poormahdi, Sareh; Graham, Sean A.; Mendelssohn, Irving A.

doi:10.1007/s12237-018-0390-y

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 123 publications

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“…The growth and expansion of S. alterniflora are dependent on a number of key physical factors in estuarine saltmarshes, such as surface elevation (Carey et al, 2017), inundation and salinity (Elsey-Quirk et al, 2009). Subject to the combined action of terrestrial and marine forcings such as the river and sediment discharges, waves and tides, these physical factors per se are constantly evolving at the estuaries (Snedden et al, 2015;Gao et al, 2018;Han et al, 2018;Poormahdi et al, 2018). Furthermore, it is well established that frequent interventions of human activities such as upstream dam regulation can result in dramatic alterations of river and sediment discharges (Wang et al, 2017;Gao et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme on the Expansion of Spartina alterniflora at the Yellow River Estuary, China

Zheng

Gao

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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In recent decades, the invasion of saltmarsh plant Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora) over a large part of coastal wetlands in China, including the Yellow River Estuary (YRE) as a regional economic hub and global ecosystem services hotspot, has caused increasing concern because of its serious threats to native ecosystems. During the same period, local authorities have implemented a Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS) in the Yellow River for flood mitigation and delta restoration purposes. The altered hydrological regime has resulted in unintended changes to estuarine ecosystem. However, the direct consequence of the WSRS on the expansion of S. alterniflora remains unclear. In this study, quantitative relationship between the inter- and intra-annual expansion patterns of S. alterniflora represented by relevant landscape metrics and indicators that quantify the concurrent variations of river and sediment discharges as the proxy of the WSRS impacts were analysed over the period of Year 2011–2018, and the analyses were performed on the YRE as a whole and on five different zones subdivided based on the invasion sequence. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the inter-annual area variation of S. alterniflora between the years with and without WSRS. Compared with the years without WSRS (2016–2017), the intra-annual (monthly) increment of the various landscape metrics [i.e., NP (number of patches), CA (class area), LPI (largest patch index) and AI (aggregation index] were found to be significantly higher in the initial stage of peak growing season (June-July) than in the mid- and late stages (July-September) in the years with WSRS (2011–2015, 2018) in the subregion located close to the south bank of YRE as the most prominent impact zone. In addition, F (mean flow), Ff (number of high flow pulses), Tf (Julian date of maximum flow) and D (duration of WSRS) were identified as the explanatory variables for the intra-annual vegetation landscape pattern changes, and their relative contributions to resultant changes were also assessed. Our results broaden the understanding of estuarine hydrological disturbance as a potential driver regulating the saltmarsh vegetation, and also have implications for S. alterniflora invasion control at estuaries under changing environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme on the Expansion of Spartina alterniflora at the Yellow River Estuary, China

Zheng

Gao

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…Additionally, Poormahdi et al (2018) found nitrogen and phosphorous enrichment ameliorated the otherwise adverse impacts of sulfate loading on saltmarsh plant growth. Perry et al (2019) discovered no significant effects of ocean acidification, heat shock, or storm occurrence on Zostera marina populations when introduced independently, but observed deleterious effects on seagrass growth when all three stressors were applied concomitantly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Evaluating multiple stressor research in coastal wetlands: A systematic review

Ostrowski

Connolly

Sievers

2021

Marine Environmental Research

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“…However, soils which receive fine-grained mineral sediment will have increased bulk density (Poormahdi et al 2018) and will be less susceptible to erosion from wind waves (Sapkota and White, 2019) or storms (Howes et al, 2010). In addition, regular mineral sediment supply can improve growing conditions for wetland vegetation by increasing elevation, relieving flood stress, and introducing new substrate into which vegetation can grow (Graham and Mendelssohn 2016;Mendelssohn and Kuhn, 2003).…”

Section: Sedimentation From Diversion Influencementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal changes to a hydrologically-reconnected coastal wetland: Implications for restoration

Spera

White

Corstanje

2020

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

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Mississippi River Delta wetlands were isolated from river influence due to leveeing in the 1900's. Surface water diversions were primarily designed to manage salinity and maintain marsh vegetation by reintroducing Mississippi River water and nutrients into adjacent wetlands.Phosphorus (P) is a major limiting nutrient that can control productivity, but in excess can contribute to wetland eutrophic conditions and water quality degradation. Most wetland soil characterization assessments consider soil total P, however, this parameter alone cannot describe P bioavailability due to difference in organic and inorganic forms. A soil characterization of the Davis Pond diversion was done in 2007, before full-scale operation began, and in 2018 after 11 years of river loading. The top 10 cm of soil from 140 stations each year were analyzed for physiochemical properties and both organic and inorganic P forms. Mineral content is used to delineate areas of river diversion influence and compare P stocks between hydrologically isolated marsh areas and where effective river diversion reconnection took place. The river diversion resulted in a nearly 100% increase in soil mineral content and 58% increase in bulk density. The dominant source of soil P has changed from organic P to inorganic P in 29% of the wetland area, significantly associated with mineral content of the soil. Inorganic P stocks in diversion influenced areas are 9 times higher than those which remained isolated from riverine materials. The study showed that long-term addition of mineral sediments and inorganic P did not lead to deleterious effects in the wetland. This is the first study in the Mississippi River delta

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Wetland Plant Community Responses to the Interactive Effects of Simulated Nutrient and Sediment Loading: Implications for Coastal Restoration Using Mississippi River Diversions

Cited by 8 publications

References 123 publications

Effects of the Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme on the Expansion of Spartina alterniflora at the Yellow River Estuary, China

Effects of the Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme on the Expansion of Spartina alterniflora at the Yellow River Estuary, China

Evaluating multiple stressor research in coastal wetlands: A systematic review

Spatial and temporal changes to a hydrologically-reconnected coastal wetland: Implications for restoration

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