Why do reed beds decline and fail to re‐establish? A case study of Dutch peat lakes

Vermaat, Jan E.; Bos, Bas; Burg, Peter Van Der

doi:10.1111/fwb.12801

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Lakes throughout the world are exposed to many abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic stressors originating from both the aquatic, as well as the adjacent terrestrial environment. Impacts on lakes from the terrestrial ecosystem first affect the shoreline areas inhabited by macroscopic vascular plants, the littoral zone (Phillips et al, 2016 ; Vermaat et al, 2016 ), which acts as a buffer. This protective ecosystem and socioeconomic service provided by the littoral zone also endangers it, making the assessment and protection of these areas vital.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Spatial Variability and Temporal Dynamics of Phragmites Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Tóth

2018

Front. Plant Sci.

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Littoral zones of freshwater lakes are exposed to environmental impacts from both terrestrial and aquatic sides, while substantial anthropogenic pressure also affects the high spatial, and temporal variability of the ecotone. In this study, the possibility of monitoring seasonal and spatial changes in reed (Phragmites australis) stands using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing technique was examined. Stands in eutrophic and mesotrophic parts of Lake Balaton including not deteriorating (stable) and deteriorating (die-back) patches, were tracked throughout the growing season using a UAV equipped with a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) camera. Photophysiological parameters of P. australis were also measured with amplitude modulated fluorescence. Parameters characterizing the dynamics of seasonal changes in NDVI data were used for phenological comparison of eutrophic and mesotrophic, stable and die-back, terrestrial and aquatic, mowed and not-mowed patches of reed. It was shown that stable Phragmites plants from the eutrophic part of the lake reached specific phenological stages up to 3.5 days earlier than plants from the mesotrophic part of the lake. The phenological changes correlated with trophic (total and nitrate-nitrite nitrogen) and physical (organic C and clay content) properties of the sediment, while only minor relationships with air and water temperature were found. Phenological differences between the stable and die-back stands were even more pronounced, with ~34% higher rates of NDVI increase in stable than die-back patches, while the period of NDVI increase was 16 days longer. Aquatic and terrestrial parts of reed stands showed no phenological differences, although intermediate areas (shallow water parts of stands) were found to be less vigorous. Winter mowing of dried Phragmites sped up sprouting and growth of reed in the spring. This study showed that remote sensing-derived photophysiological and phenological variability within and between reed stands may provide valuable early indicators of environmental stress. The flexibility of the method makes it usable for mapping fine-scale temporal variability and spatial zonation within a stand, revealing ecophysiological hotspots that might require particular attention, and obtaining information vital for conservation and management of plants in the littoral zones.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Spatial Variability and Temporal Dynamics of Phragmites Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Tóth

2018

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…Bos, & van der Burg, 2016). In the present case, the weakening of native Schoenoplectus may have been precipitated by the rapid and sustained lake water-level rise.…”

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confidence: 58%

“…Succession is assumed to be controlled by accretion of sediments and changes in resource availability (Barko & Smart, 1983;Van der Valk & Bliss, 1971). The replacement of emergent macrophytes by submersed plants does not typically happen unless the emergent population/community first declines due to a disease or herbivory (muskrat grazing; Vermaat, Bos, & van der Burg, 2016). In the present case, the weakening of native Schoenoplectus may have been precipitated by the rapid and sustained lake water-level rise.…”

Section: Replacement Of Schoenoplectus By Hydrilla and Consequencesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Regime shift in the littoral ecosystem of volcanic Lake Atitlán in Central America: combined role of stochastic event and invasive plant species

et al. 2018

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Different functional groups of macrophytes vary in their impact on aquatic ecosystem structure and processes. The introduction of new species with different growth form, combined with a stochastic event, may have serious and irreversible consequences on lake functioning. Our goals were to document and explain physical, chemical, metabolic and biotic changes in the littoral zones of a volcanic lake before and following two coinciding events: invasion by a submersed macrophyte, Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrocharitaceae), followed by a rapid increase in the lake water level (>2.5 m). We recorded plant biomass, plant tissue C:N:P stoichiometry, macroinvertebrates, water characteristics data along transects through littoral zones, and measured gas emission in controlled mesocosms and in the lake. The native emergent species, Schoenoplectus californicus (Cyperaceae), was generally not able to survive such a rapid water level increase, and Hydrilla spread and formed dense mats further preventing Schoenoplectus regeneration. The impact of another introduced species, the free‐floating Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae), was more localised, despite its much longer presence at the lake. Although the three species had comparable standing biomass, the two invader species had lower C:N:P ratios than Schoenoplectus, resulting in faster decomposition rates and indicating potential shifts in nutrient cycling within the ecosystem. The oxygen profile of the water column was altered by the non‐native species in a significantly different manner: in Eichhornia, the saturation concentrations dropped down to 30%–50% of dissolved oxygen, while oxygen supersaturation was recorded in Hydrilla. Both Schoenoplectus and Eichhornia patches exhibited comparable carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes, sequestering 230 and 300 mg CO2 m−2 hr−1, respectively, during the day and emitting 250 and 200 mg CO2 m−2 hr−1, respectively, during the night. Contrary to these two species, Hydrilla patches sequestered CO2 during the day (34 mg CO2 m−2 hr−1) and night (44 mg CO2 m−2 hr−1). The invasive species maintained a richer community of macroinvertebrates compared to several native species (excluding Schoenoplectus), both in taxa diversity and in numbers of individuals. When the results are considered in the regional context, an increase in nutrient supply could lead to the dominance of free‐floating plants. We discussed management options more broadly considering the negative impacts of introduced species balanced against their beneficial effects, in the context of environmental changes.

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“…There are other factors involved, including plant community changes. Untangling the various other effects in a quantified manner can be complicated, and may require a variety of experiments, and many longterm observations (Vermaat et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The belowground intersection of nutrients and buoyancy in a freshwater marsh

Turner

Bodker

Schulz

2017

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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An oligotrophic coastal freshwater marsh converted to open water within months after receiving partially-treated sewage water in fall 2006. Rafts of the upper 60 cm of marsh soil were found throughout the area within two years, as parts of the 1100 year-old marsh were re-distributed in the open water. We examined the marsh soils from 2009 to 2012 to determine some of the cause-and-effect consequences of their decomposition to the formation of these floating mats. There was a lack of herbivory damage in April 2009 where the outer boundary of the soil profile was weakened at 50-60 cm depth, and eventually converted to open water. A 2012 storm event flooded the area by 1.5 m, resulting in new marsh mat 'popups' whose bottom underside was coincidental with the layer of maximum decline in soil strength in the sewage treated area. We conclude that the addition of partially-treated sewage weakened the soil structure during this high water event and others to allow for the vertical separation of the marsh as the buoyancy forces exceeded the marsh's anchor strength, thereby exposing the softer older peats to decomposition, and smothering marsh underneath the mat's new location. A chronic effect of eutrophication on these marshes was, therefore, revealed in a dramatic flooding event. A bottom up (nutrient addition), not top-down stress (herbivory) contributed to wetland loss in the area, and is a potentially significant chronic stressor for other eutrophied marshes with significant aboveground flooding.

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Why do reed beds decline and fail to re‐establish? A case study of Dutch peat lakes

Cited by 20 publications

References 39 publications

Monitoring Spatial Variability and Temporal Dynamics of Phragmites Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Monitoring Spatial Variability and Temporal Dynamics of Phragmites Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Regime shift in the littoral ecosystem of volcanic Lake Atitlán in Central America: combined role of stochastic event and invasive plant species

The belowground intersection of nutrients and buoyancy in a freshwater marsh

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