Effects of salinity and flooding on post‐hurricane regeneration potential in coastal wetland vegetation

Middleton, Beth A.

doi:10.3732/ajb.1600062

Cited by 26 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…For germination studies that tested flooding separately from salinity, however, flooding was also shown to decrease seedling emergence (Peterson and Baldwin 2004, Delgado et al 2018, Sloey and Hester 2019). Indeed, our measured coefficient of community was lowest between the SNF and SF treatments (0.32; Table 4), so both flooding and salinity are physical factors affecting seed germination and plant success (Middleton 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Changes in plant communities of low‐salinity tidal marshes in response to sea‐level rise

Humphreys

Gorsky

Bilkovic³

et al. 2021

Ecosphere

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As sea-level rises, low-salinity tidal marshes experience greater flooding with more saline water. In the Chesapeake Bay estuary, we compared the 1980 and 2014 tidal marsh inventories (TMIs) of plant communities from James City County, Virginia, USA, with respect to the spatial distribution of two species-the invasive reed Phragmites australis and native salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora-plus overall species richness. Since the 1980 TMI, the total area of low-salinity tidal marshes in which P. australis occurred increased from 0.46 km 2 to 6.30 km 2 in 2014. Between TMIs, however, the total area of lowsalinity marshes occupied by S. alterniflora increased by only 0.02 km 2 . Species richness in low-salinity tidal marshes decreased from 41 to 25 between TMIs. To assess seedling emergence under increased flooding and salinity, we completed two seed bank germination experiments using soil samples collected from six low-salinity marshes containing established P. australis stands. In the first experiment, more seedlings emerged in the two low-salinity (0 vs. 5 ppt) treatments after seven weeks, irrespective of flooding (water 3.75 cm below vs. at soil surface), but no P. australis or S. alterniflora germinated. For the second experiment, we added seeds of P. australis and S. alterniflora to soils exposed to the same flooding and salinity treatments to test the impact of these plant competitors on seedling emergence. No difference in number of seedlings was detected among treatments, but the number of species and their relative abundance was significantly affected by flooding (ANOSIM, R = 0.138, P < 0.001). The presence of P. australis and S. alterniflora seedlings appeared to shift the physical factor more influential on seedling emergence from salinity to flooding. For both seed bank experiments, more seedlings but not more species emerged from soils collected from marshes where P. australis coverage was <50%. High diversity plant communities of low-salinity tidal marshes along the upper reaches of this estuary are gradually being replaced by those dominated by P. australis and S. alterniflora-a trend expected to continue here and in other riverine estuaries of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Changes in plant communities of low‐salinity tidal marshes in response to sea‐level rise

Humphreys

Gorsky

Bilkovic³

et al. 2021

Ecosphere

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“…Overwash occurs when foredunes are destroyed resulting in salt intrusion to inland communities, which reduces germination of salt intolerant species (Middleton 2016). Foredunes may offer protection to interior communities, depending on variations in elevation and length (Zarnetske et al 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of seed dispersal and environmental filtering affects woody encroachment patterns in coastal grassland

et al. 2019

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Encroachment of woody plants into grasslands has occurred worldwide and includes coastal ecosystems. This conversion process is mediated by seed dispersal patterns, environmental filtering, and biotic interactions. As spatiotemporally heterogeneous, harsh environments, barrier islands present a unique set of challenges for dispersal and establishment. Environmental conditions act as filters on dispersed seeds, thereby influencing encroachment and distribution patterns. Seldom have patterns of propagule dispersal been considered in the context of woody encroachment. We quantified dispersal and post‐dispersal processes of an encroaching woody population of Morella cerifera relative to directional rate of encroachment and observed distribution patterns on an Atlantic coastal barrier island with strong environmental filtering. We analyzed historic foredune elevation as a proxy for reduced interior environmental stress. The dispersal kernel was leptokurtic, a common characteristic of expanding populations, but rate of encroachment has slowed since 2005. Expansion pattern was related to foredune elevation, which limits encroachment below a threshold elevation. This difference between dispersal kernel behavior and encroachment rate is due to limited availability of suitable habitat for Morella and temporal variability in chlorides during the time of germination. Our results demonstrate that processes mediating seeds and seedling success must be accounted for to better understand establishment patterns of encroaching woody plants.

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“…Moreover, the existence of a ridge on the eastern fringe of the Guiuan site provides partial protection for the inland area not only from the destructive power of the coastal flooding but also from the intense salinity induced by the coastal flooding. Middleton (2016) indicated that even a very low level of typhoon-induced salinity reduces the regeneration potential of the coastal vegetation [62]. However, the Guiuan site is expected to be exposed to higher salinity contamination and storm surge-related damages than the Tacloban site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Forest Resilience Dynamics from Very High-Resolution Satellite Images in Case of Multi-Hazard Disaster

Rezaei

Ghaffarian

2021

Remote Sensing

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Typhoons strongly impact the structure and functioning of the forests, especially in the coastal areas in which typhoon-induced flooding imposes additional stress on the ecosystem via physical destruction and rising soil salinity. The impact of typhoons on forest ecosystems is becoming even more significant in the changing climate, which triggers atmospheric mechanisms that increase their frequency and intensity. This study investigates the resiliency of the Philippines’ forest areas (i.e., two selected forestry areas in Tacloban and Guiuan) in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which was followed by coastal flooding, as well as changes in ecosystem and biomass content using remote sensing. For this, we first evaluated the sensitivity of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI), and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) in detecting temporal changes in biomass content using very high-resolution satellite images. Then, employing three resilience concepts: amplitude, malleability, and elasticity, the most sensitive biomass index (i.e., NDVI) and digital elevation model (DEM) data were used to measure the resiliency of the Guiuan and Tacloban sites. We also applied a mean-variance analysis to extract and illustrate the shifts in the ecosystem status. The results show that despite a considerable biomass loss (57% in Guiuan and 46% in Tacloban), the Guiuan and Tacloban sites regained 80% and 70% of their initial biomass content within a year after the typhoon, respectively. However, the presence of canopy gaps in the Tacloban site makes it vulnerable to external stressors. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that the study areas return to their initial states within two years. This indicates the high resiliency of those areas according to elasticity results. Moreover, the evaluation of typhoon impacts according to the elevation demonstrates that the elevation had a substantial impact on both damage severity and biomass recovery.

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Effects of salinity and flooding on post‐hurricane regeneration potential in coastal wetland vegetation

Cited by 26 publications

References 56 publications

Changes in plant communities of low‐salinity tidal marshes in response to sea‐level rise

Changes in plant communities of low‐salinity tidal marshes in response to sea‐level rise

Interaction of seed dispersal and environmental filtering affects woody encroachment patterns in coastal grassland

Monitoring Forest Resilience Dynamics from Very High-Resolution Satellite Images in Case of Multi-Hazard Disaster

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