Woody Vegetation and Microtopography in the Bog Meadow Association of Cedar Bog, a West-central Ohio Fen

Collins, Scott L.; Perino, Janice V.; Vankat, John L.

doi:10.2307/2425484

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Both the experiment and the meadow survey showed a strong effect of soil moisture on the composition and species richness of the plant communities found in beaver meadows in the central Adirondacks. Hydrology has been described as the master variable that controls the distribution and abundance of wetland plants (van der Valk 1987), and numerous studies have shown a strong effect of soil moisture or water table depth on wetland plant composition (Gemborys and Hodgkins 1971, Walker and Wehrhahn 1971, Collins et al 1982, Polley and Collins 1984, Titus 1990. Soils that are waterlogged present a particularly stressful environment for plants that must deal with anoxia and problems of nutrient uptake (Mitsch and Gosselink 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local vs. Landscape Controls on Plant Species Richness in Beaver Meadows

Wright

Flecker

Jones

2003

Ecology

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There is considerable interest in determining whether the species richness of communities is determined by forces controlling dispersal into patches that operate at the landscape scale, or forces controlling persistence that act at the local scale. Understanding the relative importance of these two classes of factors in controlling within‐patch species richness is particularly important when patches are created via ecosystem engineering. In such cases, factors affecting the population dynamics or behavior of a single species could indirectly affect species richness if richness is controlled primarily by landscape‐level factors. We used a combination of experimental mesocosms and field observations to determine whether species richness in beaver wetlands in the Adirondack Mountains (New York) is more strongly controlled by the position of the wetland in the landscape or by within‐wetland hydrology. Drainage rate had a significant effect on both richness and composition in mesocosms, with well‐drained treatments having significantly higher richness than poorly drained treatments. Seed germinated from the seed bank in sediments collected from different ponds showed relatively small differences in richness or community composition in mesocosms, suggesting a comparatively small effect of dispersal limitation on species richness. Experimental results were mirrored in a survey of 14 meadows over two years, which indicated that variability in water table depth was consistently a significant predictor of species richness, while meadow area and isolation showed little relation to richness. The survey also suggested that the number of years since beaver had abandoned a site was a significant predictor of the number of species found in beaver meadows. The results indicate that species richness in beaver meadows is strongly controlled by local factors, but that the population dynamics of beaver could also potentially affect species richness by altering the age distribution of meadows across the landscape.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local vs. Landscape Controls on Plant Species Richness in Beaver Meadows

Wright

Flecker

Jones

2003

Ecology

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“…Microtopography and vegetation composition have been shown to be related in other ecosystems such as mixed conifer deciduous forests (Beatty 1984), hardwood floodplain forests of Florida (Titus 1990), tropical freshwater swamp forests (Koponen et al 2004), and Ohio fens (Collins et al 1982). Koponen et al (2004) found greater species richness on hummocks than hollows in tropical freshwater swamps of French Guiana.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Microtopography on Hydrology, Physicochemistry, and Vegetation in a Tidal Swamp of the Hudson River

Courtwright

Findlay

2011

Wetlands

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Hudson River freshwater tidal swamps have dynamic flooding and oxygenation regimes due to daily tidal flushing. Microtopography, small scale differences in elevation, adds even more complexity to inundation patterns and may have important implications for nutrient flow and wetland plant communities. The objective of this study was to determine if differences in inundation between microtopographic features were sufficient to alter physical, chemical, and biological attributes. Microtopography significantly affected flooding duration and redox conditions. Hummocks had lower concentrations of soluble phosphate in their porewater probably due to differing depths of iron oxidation. Hummocks also had lower porewater ammonium concentrations which could be explained by higher plant uptake of nitrogen on hummocks or less ammonium being nitrified and subsequently denitrified in hollows due to lack of oxygen. Decomposition rates were slower in hollows perhaps due to lack of oxygen due to flooding or differing decomposer communities. Fewer herbaceous plant species were found in hollows compared to hummocks perhaps because of hollow's anoxic soils. Microtopography affects freshwater tidal swamp ecosystem function by affecting oxygen penetration, nutrient availability, rates of decomposition, and herbaceous plant species distributions.

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“…Our study is not the only study that has observed that there seems to be relationship between vegetation and microrelief. Ecology field studies have long noted the existence of microrelief and have debated their origin (Hardin and Wistendahl, ; Ehrenfeld, ) and relationship to vegetation spatial heterogeneity (Collins et al ., ; Jones et al ., ). Ehrenfeld () proposed that a number of mechanisms could explain the formation of small scale depressions including tree falls, animal tracks, muskrat activities, vehicle tracks, differences in leaf litter accumulation rates and variations in deposition and erosion caused by floods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The hydrologic implications of old field succession: depression storage and leaf litter

2012

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Previous studies have noted the importance of vegetation in controlling run-off in terrestrial landscapes. Here, we hypothesize that ecologic succession from mowed grassland to old field to forest will impact run-off characteristics due to changing vegetation characteristics that affect soil surface processes. We test this idea by measuring depression storage and leaf litter water retention rates in 13 sites across this successional gradient. Sites of similar slope and soil type were also evaluated against one another to isolate the effect of vegetation diversity and management on depression storage. Results showed that average ideal depression storage increased with greater vegetation diversity and structure. Effective depression storage of unmanaged systems was significantly higher than mowed systems, implying that management activities retard the natural development of microtopography. Results of leaf litter water retention varied among land covers but contributed less than depression storage for water capture. These results demonstrate the tight linkages between vegetation succession and run-off. Understanding these characteristics is necessary for developing effective hydrologic models.

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Woody Vegetation and Microtopography in the Bog Meadow Association of Cedar Bog, a West-central Ohio Fen

Cited by 20 publications

References 4 publications

Local vs. Landscape Controls on Plant Species Richness in Beaver Meadows

Local vs. Landscape Controls on Plant Species Richness in Beaver Meadows

Effects of Microtopography on Hydrology, Physicochemistry, and Vegetation in a Tidal Swamp of the Hudson River

The hydrologic implications of old field succession: depression storage and leaf litter

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