Marine beach and dune plant communities

Barbour, Michael G.; Jong, T. M. De; Pavlik, Bruce M.

doi:10.1007/978-94-009-4830-3_14

Cited by 150 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 78 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, water stress is more prevalent on dunes because the porous nature of sandy soils leads to extreme limitations in water availability (Barbour et al 1985), as compared to low elevation swales that are in close proximity to the soil freshwater lens (Hayden et al 1991(Hayden et al , 1995. Magnitude of the freshwater lens is a function of island size, especially width and elevation (Bolyard et al 1979, Hayden et al 1995, so larger islands may support more diverse plant communities with greater evapotranspiration demands.…”

Section: Concept and Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape position and habitat polygons in a dynamic coastal environment

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. In contrast to stable inland systems, coastal landscape positions are dynamic, changing as shorelines migrate and storms alter topography. We define landscape position by distance to ocean shoreline and elevation above sea level, two metrics that integrate a suite of environmental and biotic factors. As shoreline and elevation change, suitability of a geo-referenced position for a given plant species may also change. The objectives of our study were to use two methods for measuring landscape position (GPS and hyperspectral/light detection and ranging or LIDAR) to develop habitat polygons, compare habitat polygons for five species representing several adaptive strategies, and illustrate change in landscape position due to migrating shoreline for a Virginia, USA barrier island. Habitat polygons for each species were distinct, represented several growth forms or functional groups, and were indicative of tolerances to biotic and abiotic stresses. The habitat polygon for Cakile edentula (annual forb) was relatively small, indicating narrow habitat requirements for the strand environment. Cirsium horridulum (biennial forb), with succulent shoots and roots, occurred on dunes where water is most limiting. For the dunebuilding grass, Ammophila breviligulata, as distance from shoreline increased, minimum elevation also increased. Two woody species occurred across the entire island; however, Morella cerifera (N-fixing shrub), was limited to mesic swales whereas Juniperus virginiana (evergreen tree), with the largest habitat polygon, occurred on both dunes and swales. For a geo-referenced point on the north end of Hog Island, distance to shoreline increased from the shoreline to 1100 m inland over 139 years. In contrast, the geo-referenced point on the eroding portion of the island decreased from 1700 m to 120 m from the ocean shoreline over the same time period. Where sea level rise and storms are expected to alter shorelines and island topography, generation of habitat polygons from hyperspectral and LIDAR imagery provide rapid assessment of potential effects on species distribution patterns at local and regional scales. Habitat polygons have broad applicability beyond coastal systems and may contribute to a rapid assessment or identification of vulnerability for species as climate patterns shift through time.

show abstract

Section: Concept and Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape position and habitat polygons in a dynamic coastal environment

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…From an ecological perspective, once pioneer salt-tolerant strand species colonize a shore in the presence of active aeolian transport, trapped sand acts as a positive selection mechanism for burial-tolerant "dune-building" grasses (5,6,8). The resulting foredune further reduces salinity and landward sand transport, thus creating favorable conditions for new species, ecological competition, and plant succession (5,6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecologists have studied the response of plant communities (e.g., spatial sorting, zonation, and diversity) to physical and chemical gradients (including sand burial, wind exposure, salt spray, soil moisture, underground water salinity, soil pH, and nutrients) many of which are affected by the topography (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10). From an ecological perspective, once pioneer salt-tolerant strand species colonize a shore in the presence of active aeolian transport, trapped sand acts as a positive selection mechanism for burial-tolerant "dune-building" grasses (5,6,8). The resulting foredune further reduces salinity and landward sand transport, thus creating favorable conditions for new species, ecological competition, and plant succession (5,6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation controls on the maximum size of coastal dunes

Durán

Moore

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

238

232

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coastal dunes, in particular foredunes, support a resilient ecosystem and reduce coastal vulnerability to storms. In contrast to dry desert dunes, coastal dunes arise from interactions between biological and physical processes. Ecologists have traditionally addressed coastal ecosystems by assuming that they adapt to preexisting dune topography, whereas geomorphologists have studied the properties of foredunes primarily in connection to physical, not biological, factors. Here, we study foredune development using an ecomorphodynamic model that resolves the coevolution of topography and vegetation in response to both physical and ecological factors. We find that foredune growth is eventually limited by a negative feedback between wind flow and topography. As a consequence, steady-state foredunes are scale invariant, which allows us to derive scaling relations for maximum foredune height and formation time. These relations suggest that plant zonation (in particular for strand "dune-building" species) is the primary factor controlling the maximum size of foredunes and therefore the amount of sand stored in a coastal dune system. We also find that aeolian sand supply to the dunes determines the timescale of foredune formation. These results offer a potential explanation for the empirical relation between beach type and foredune size, in which large (small) foredunes are found on dissipative (reflective) beaches. Higher waves associated with dissipative beaches increase the disturbance of strand species, which shifts foredune formation landward and thus leads to larger foredunes. In this scenario, plants play a much more active role in modifying their habitat and altering coastal vulnerability than previously thought.ecomorphodynamic modeling | dune stabilization | sediment budget

show abstract

“…3), which is in accordance with previous studies on beach and dune species (Lesko & Walker 1969;Seneca 1969). Barbour et al (1985) stated that seed germination of beach and dune species is neither as tolerant to salinity as some typical salt marsh halophytes, nor as sensitive as some glycophytes. Germination inhibition is primarily due to an osmotic effect and not to a chloride toxicity (Seneca 1969;Bliss et aL 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Germination ecology of coastal plants in relation to salt environment

Mariko

Kachi

Ishikawa

et al. 1992

Ecological Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Responses of seed germination to salinity were examined using 37 species collected from salt marshes, cliffs, and fore (unstable) and hind (stable) sand dunes along Japanese coasts. For comparison, seed germination of nine inland species was also examined. The soil salinities in salt marshes ranged from 150 to 300 mmol/L NaC1, whereas those in fore and hind dunes ranged from 0 to 50 mmol/L NaC1, with a few exceptions. Cliff soils showed relatively high salinities up to 300 mmol/L NaCI. Cliff and foredune soils that encountered a typhoon and storm showed high salinities > 300 mmol/L NaC1. Salt tolerance in seed germination of coastal plants was ordered by comparing the responses of percentage and rate of germination to salinity conditions up to 200 mmol/L NaC1, being in the order of salt marsh > cliff > foredune "" hind dune ~" iniand. These results indicate that salt tolerance in seed germination of coastal plants is dosely related to the salinity conditions of their habitats. Germination experiments under favorable conditions showed that a high percentage of the seeds of salt marsh species germinate rapidly, those of cliff species germinate slowly and those of foredune species exhibit a low percentage and low rate of germination. It seems that these germination characteristics contribute to the success of germination at the 'safe site' and the subsequent survivorship of emerged plants in their natural habitats.

show abstract

Marine beach and dune plant communities

Cited by 150 publications

References 78 publications

Landscape position and habitat polygons in a dynamic coastal environment

Landscape position and habitat polygons in a dynamic coastal environment

Vegetation controls on the maximum size of coastal dunes

Germination ecology of coastal plants in relation to salt environment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About