Restoring macrophyte diversity in shallow temperate lakes: biotic versus abiotic constraints

Bakker, Elisabeth S.; Sarneel, Judith M.; Gulati, R. D.; Liu, Zhengwen; Donk, Ellen Van

doi:10.1007/s10750-012-1142-9

Cited by 153 publications

(148 citation statements)

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“…Especially because the colonisation of fen banks and ponds by seeds is often hampered, either because the propagule bank does not contain many species (Sarneel, 2010;Bakker et al, 2012) or because germination and establishment are hampered (Sarneel & Soons, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dispersal capacity of vegetative propagules of riparian fen species

Sarneel

2012

Hydrobiologia

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Flowing water can disperse a high number of seeds and vegetative propagules over long distances and is therefore a very important dispersal vector in wetland habitats. Although the dispersal of seeds is relatively well studied, the dispersal of vegetative propagules has received less attention. However, in riparian and aquatic systems where many species have clonal growth forms, it can be very important. The relative importance of vegetative propagules in the dispersal of fen species was assessed first by determining their relative abundance in the field and second, by determining the buoyancy of plant fragments of ten fen species experimentally. On average, vegetative propagules made up 3.2-58.9% of the total propagule number (mainly Elodea nutallii). Buoyancy of the tested species ranged from 25 days to over 6 months. Surprisingly, the propagules of Stratiotes aloides and Hydrocharis morsus-ranae increased buoyancy when spring started (after ca. 100 days). The results demonstrate that vegetative propagules of riparian and aquatic fen species have a high capacity to disperse over long distances via water and are therefore likely to play an important role in the colonisation of new habitats. Especially because in nine out of the ten species tested, over 50% of the propagules were still viable after 6 months of floating.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dispersal capacity of vegetative propagules of riparian fen species

Sarneel

2012

Hydrobiologia

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“…Some studies found that herbivory by birds decreased macrophyte biomass severely, even up to 100% (Sondergaard et al, 1996;Hilt, 2006;Wood et al, 2012;Bakker & Nolet, 2014), while others found that the removed biomass is compensated by macrophyte regrowth (Mitchell & Wass, 1996;Perrow et al, 1997;Hansson et al, 2010). This apparent contradiction may arise from the varying conditions under which these studies have been conducted, such as the macrophyte and the bird species under consideration, or the experimental set-up (Perrow et al, 1997;Bakker et al, 2013). A recent meta-analysis of all available field studies demonstrated that the impact of herbivory by birds on aquatic plants increases with bird biomass density, offering the first proof that birds systematically reduce macrophyte biomass when present at sufficient densities (Wood et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of bird herbivory on macrophytes and the resilience of the clear-water state in shallow lakes: a model study

et al. 2016

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Shallow lakes have the potential to switch between two alternative stable states: a clear macrophyte-dominated and a turbid phytoplankton-dominated state. Observational and experimental studies show that in some lakes herbivory by birds may severely decrease macrophyte biomass, while in other lakes, the removed biomass by herbivory is compensated by regrowth. These contradictory outcomes might arise because of interplay between top-down control by bird herbivory and bottom-up effects by nutrient loading on macrophytes. Here, we use the ecosystem model PCLake to study top-down and bottom-up control of macrophytes by coots and nutrient loading. Our model predicted that (1) herbivory by birds lowers the critical nutrient loading at which the regime shift occurs; (2) bird impact on macrophyte biomass through herbivory increases with nutrient loading; and (3) improved food quality enhances the impact of birds on macrophytes, thus decreasing the resilience of the clear-water state even further. The fact that bird herbivory can have a large impact on macrophyte biomass and can facilitate a regime shift implies that the presence of waterfowl should be taken into account in the estimation of critical nutrient loadings to be used in water quality management.

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“…The relationships between charophytes (as submerged macrophytes) and microalgae include a set of known mechanisms, such as competition for inorganic nutrients (Mulderij et al, 2007), allelopathy in both directions (van Donk and van de Bund, 2002;Pflugmacher, 2002), light limitation (Scheffer et al, 1993;Arthaud et al, 2012) and the consequence of shifts in both the size structure and functional roles of the plankton (Bakker et al, 2013), e.g., a decrease in non-edible cyanobacterial filaments (Rojo et al, 2013). Moreover, macrophyte beds offer zooplankton a refuge from fish predation (Burks et al, 2002;Carpenter et al,1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%