Characterization of microtopography and its influence on vegetation patterns in created wetlands

Moser, Kurt F.; Ahn, Changwoo; Noe, Gregory B.

doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[1081:comaii]2.0.co;2

Cited by 130 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…However, multiscale ecological studies are relatively rare (Dalgaard et al 2003, Moser et al 2007, probably due to the lack of high-resolution data covering large geographic areas. We found that the topographic influence on local plant diversity and distribution patterns became less evident at horizontal resolutions coarser than 10 m. Hence, our multiscale modeling suggests that the mechanisms underlying the local vegetation-topography relationships presented here operate primarily at the 10 m scale.…”

Section: Scale Effects On Vegetation-topography Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

et al. 2013

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Citation: Moeslund, J. E., L. Arge, P. K. Bøcher, T. Dalgaard, M. V. Odgaard, B. Nygaard, and J.-C. Svenning. 2013.Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region. Ecosphere 4(7):91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00134.1Abstract. Topography is recognized as an important factor in controlling plant distribution and diversity patterns, but its scale dependence and the underlying mechanisms by which it operates are not well understood. Here, we used novel high-resolution (2-m scale) topographic data from more than 30500 vegetation plots to assess the importance of topography for local plant diversity and distribution patterns across Denmark, a 43000 km 2 lowland region. The vegetation data came from 901 nature conservation sites (mean size ¼ 0.16 km 2 ) distributed throughout Denmark, each having an average of 34 plots (five-meter radius) per site. We employed a variety of statistical measures and techniques to investigate scale dependence and mechanistic drivers operating within the study region. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression modeling scaled at different spatial resolutions (2 3 2, 10 3 10, 50 3 50, 100 3 100 and 250 3 250 m) was used to identify the horizontal resolution yielding the strongest vegetation-topography relationships. Using data scaled at this resolution, we quantified local (within-site) and regional (among sites) relationships between elevation, mechanistic topographic factors (slope, heat index, potential solar radiation, wind exposure, wetness index) and 10 vegetation measures representing species composition, richness and functional composition (average plant preferences along key environmental niche axes). We also investigated how overall site-level environmental characteristics affect the strength of these local relationships. Topography exerted the strongest effects at the 10 3 10 m horizontal resolution scale. Elevation exerted the strongest influence on vegetation, followed by slope and wetness. Topography generally affected all vegetation measures and exhibited the strongest local relationships with the main species-compositional gradient, the main functional gradient and the plant's average soil moisture preference. The strength of these relationships was strongly influenced by habitat and site-level average moisture conditions, with the strongest relationships found in wet habitats. Our findings show that finescale topography can strongly influence local vegetation patterns across a wide range of habitat types even in low-relief lowland regions. Notably, topography exhibited a consistently strong relationship with the main local floristic and functional compositional gradients. While a plurality of underlying mechanisms may contribute to the relationship between topography and vegetation patterns, topographically controlled soil moisture exerts primary control on the relationship.

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Section: Scale Effects On Vegetation-topography Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

et al. 2013

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“…Disking (i.e., mechanically roughing the soil surface) can increase microtopography, enhance plant diversity, and alter nutrient availability in newly created wetlands (Moser et al 2007(Moser et al , 2009), but rough surfaces will likely be short-lived unless perpetuated by the biota, especially in wetlands, where water is a strong leveling influence that erodes high points and fills depressions. Species that build persistent structures Manuscript received 8 September 2010;accepted 15 November 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of tussocks by sedges: effects of hydroperiod and nutrients

Lawrence¹,

Zedler²

2011

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Tussock formation is a global phenomenon that enhances microtopography and increases biodiversity by adding structure to ecological communities, but little is known about tussock development in relation to environmental factors. To further efforts to restore wetland microtopography and associated functions, we investigated Carex stricta tussock size in relation to elevation (a proxy for water depth) at a range of sites in southern Wisconsin, USA, and tested the effect of five hydroperiods and N þ P addition (15 g N/m 2 þ 0.37 g P/m 2 ) on tussock formation during a three-year mesocosm experiment. Wet meadows dominated by C. stricta averaged 4.9 tussocks/m 2 , with a mean volume of 1160 cm 3 and height of 15 cm. Within sites, taller tussocks occurred at lower elevations, suggesting a structural adaptation to anoxic conditions. In our mesocosm experiment, C. stricta accelerated tussock formation when inundated, and it increased overall productivity with N þ P addition. Within two growing seasons, continuous inundation (þ18 cm) in the mesocosms led to tussocks that were nearly as tall as in our field survey (mean height in mesocosms, 10 6 1.3 cm; maximum, 17 cm). Plants grown with constant low water (À18 cm) only formed short mounds (mean height ¼ 2 6 0.4 cm). After three growing seasons, the volume of the largest tussocks (3274 6 376 cm 3 , grown with þ18 cm water depth and N þ P addition) was 12 times that of the smallest (275 6 38 cm 3 , grown with À18 cm water depth and no N þ P). Though tussock composition varied among hydroperiods, tussocks were predominantly organic (74-94% of dry mass) and composed of leaf bases (46-59%), fine roots (10-31%), and duff (5-13%). Only the plants subjected to high water levels produced the vertically oriented rhizomes and ascending shoot bases that were prevalent in field-collected tussocks. Under continuous or periodic inundation, tussocks achieved similar heights and accumulated similar levels of organic matter (range: 163-394 g C/m 2 ), and we conclude that these hydroperiods can accelerate tussock formation. Thus, C. stricta has high utility for restoring wetland microtopography and associated functions, including carbon accumulation.

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“…When joining GMU in 2003, I launched a long-term study of functional development and design elements for created mitigation wetlands, specifically collaborating with a local company specializing in wetland mitigation. The work includes microtopography and hydrologic connectivity as design elements that can be created and managed to enhance the development of ecological functions in wetlands to restore ecosystem services (Moser et al, 2007(Moser et al, , 2009Wolf et al, 2013), which also involved in working with people from a variety of disciplines, including engineering (e.g., hydrology), landscape architecture, botany, soil sciences, film and media, communication, and/or arts. I have also been interested and practiced in combining teaching and research activities as a college scholar and teacher.…”

Section: Ecoscience + Art Initiativementioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of microtopography and its influence on vegetation patterns in created wetlands

Cited by 130 publications

References 28 publications

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

Topographically controlled soil moisture is the primary driver of local vegetation patterns across a lowland region

Formation of tussocks by sedges: effects of hydroperiod and nutrients

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