Subtle differences in two non‐native congeneric beach grasses significantly affect their colonization, spread, and impact

Hacker, Sally D.; Zarnetske, Phoebe L.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Ruggiero, Peter; Mull, Jeremy; Gerrity, Shawn; Jones, Colin

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0706.2011.18887.x

Cited by 122 publications

(265 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

255

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is not obvious whether this is a cause or an effect of tiller density. Soil organic matter increases with time in primary successional systems due to the facilitative effects of early plant colonizers (e.g., Chapin et al 1994, Lichter 1998, so it is possible that soil organic matter responds directly to A. breviligu- Hacker et al (2012) found that sand supply rates (cm sand deposition per month) differed among sites and were better predictors of tiller densities than were local climate factors. Ammophila breviligulata is adapted to the dune environment and actually dependent on moving sand and burial to maintain vigorous populations (Maun and Lapierre 1984).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata

Emery

Rudgers

2014

Ecosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Citation: Emery, S. M., and J. A. Rudgers. 2014. Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata. Ecosphere 5(7):87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/ES13-00331.1Abstract. Ecosystem engineers are species that fundamentally influence their community and ecosystem by creating or altering the physical structure of habitats. However, the function of ecosystem engineers is variable and can depend on abiotic and biotic factors. In this study, we characterized the ecosystem engineering traits of plant size and tiller density for the dune grass, Ammophila breviligulata, in 37 sites across a broad geographic gradient in the western Great Lakes region. We also measured 20 biotic and abiotic factors related to climate, soil chemistry, and fungal symbionts associated with these survey sites and assessed their relationships with A. breviligulata population traits and dune plant species richness. Climate factors, especially temperature and precipitation, were positively associated with A. breviligulata tiller size, while soil organic matter was the only factor associated with tiller density. Several factors, including temperature, soil nitrogen, and mycorrhizal colonization, were associated with plant richness across our sites. Our results suggest that climate can influence at least some ecosystem engineering traits (i.e., plant size) of an important dune building species, although general conclusions from our work indicate that the population trait tied most closely with dune building ability-population density-is not strongly influenced by climate at the regional scale. This offers insight for conservationists interested in preserving intact dune ecosystems in a changing climate, but further work is needed to reconcile conflicting lab and field studies.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata

Emery

Rudgers

2014

Ecosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A. arenaria and E. juncea differ in their vegetation characteristics: A. arenaria grows in dense patches, whereas E. juncea has a sparser growth form. This difference in growth form probably also results in a different dune morphology: A. arenaria forms higher "hummocky" shaped dunes, whereas E. juncea builds broader and lower dunes (Bakker, 1976;Hacker et al, 2012). The monitoring area is bisected by a low (maximum height of 7 m NAP, i.e.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whether the latter also applies to nebkha dunes, is unknown. Differences in vegetation density between plant species are known to modify sand deposition (Arens, 1996;Hesp, 1983;Keijsers et al, 2014;Zarnetske et al, 2012), storm erosion (Charbonneau et al, 2017;Seabloom et al, 2013), and dune morphology (Du et al, 2010;Hacker et al, 2012;Hesp, 1988). Sheltering by other nebkha dunes can decrease the sand supply but can also reduce erosion by waves (Arens, 1996;Lima et al, 2015;Luo et al, 2014;Montreuil et al, 2013).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the contributions of vegetation and dune size to early dune development using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imaging

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Dune development along highly dynamic land-sea boundaries is the result of interaction between vegetation and dune size with sedimentation and erosion processes. Disentangling the contribution of vegetation characteristics from that of dune size would improve predictions of nebkha dune development under a changing climate, but has proven difficult due to the scarcity of spatially continuous monitoring data.This study explored the contributions of vegetation and dune size to dune development for locations differing in shelter from the sea. We monitored a natural nebkha dune field of 8 ha, along the coast of the island Texel, the Netherlands, for 1 year using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with camera. After constructing a digital surface model and orthomosaic we derived for each dune (1) vegetation characteristics (species composition, vegetation density, and maximum vegetation height), (2) dune size (dune volume, area, and maximum height), (3) degree of shelter (proximity to other nebkha dunes and the sheltering by the foredune). Changes in dune volume over summer and winter were related to vegetation, dune size and degree of shelter.We found that a positive change in dune volume (dune growth) was linearly related to initial dune volume over summer but not over winter. Big dunes accumulated more sand than small dunes due to their larger surface area. Exposed dunes increased more in volume (0.81 % per dune per week) than sheltered dunes (0.2 % per dune per week) over summer, while the opposite occurred over winter. Vegetation characteristics did not significantly affect dune growth in summer, but did significantly affect dune growth in winter. Over winter, dunes dominated by Ammophila arenaria, a grass species with high vegetation density throughout the year, increased more in volume than dunes dominated by Elytrigia juncea, a grass species with lower vegetation density (0.43 vs. 0.42 (m 3 m −3 ) week −1 ). The effect of species was irrespective of dune size or distance to the sea.Our results show that dune growth in summer is mainly determined by dune size, whereas in winter dune growth was determined by vegetation type. In our study area the growth of exposed dunes was likely restricted by storm erosion, whereas growth of sheltered dunes was restricted by sand supply. Our results can be used to improve models predicting coastal dune development.

show abstract

“…Interactions among these species ultimately affect the composition of the plant community, and thus the structure of landscape itself. In the US Pacific Northwest, the introductions and subsequent invasions of two Ammophila beach grasses caused landscape-scale transformations of coastal dune shape [161]. This is surprising, given the dominant influence of the physical environment on coastal geomorphology [162].…”

Section: Effects Of Biotic Interactions On Landscape Structurementioning

confidence: 88%

The Interplay Between Landscape Structure and Biotic Interactions

Zarnetske

Baiser

Strecker

et al. 2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Landscape structure and biotic interactions are closely linked. We identify five aspects of landscape structure that contribute to the co-occurrence of species and restrict or enable different types of biotic interactions: patch size and habitat amount, isolation of patches, barriers to dispersal and movement, persistence of landscape structure, and landscape complexity. In addition, these aspects of landscape structure influence the strength and outcome of biotic interactions. Whereas most research focuses on the effects of the abiotic environment on species and their biotic interactions, research on foundation species and ecosystem engineers demonstrates the important influence of biotic interactions on landscape structure itself, including effects on landscape complexity, extent of habitat, and the structure of landscape features. In this review, we describe ecological theories that lay the foundation for interplay between landscape structure and biotic interactions, and summarize these connections across an array of interacting species in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial systems. We end with suggestions for integrating the fields of landscape ecology and community ecology to better understand the connections between landscape structure and biotic interactions and better predict their dynamics in light of global change.

show abstract

Subtle differences in two non‐native congeneric beach grasses significantly affect their colonization, spread, and impact

Cited by 122 publications

References 35 publications

Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata

Biotic and abiotic predictors of ecosystem engineering traits of the dune building grass, Ammophila breviligulata

Exploring the contributions of vegetation and dune size to early dune development using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imaging

The Interplay Between Landscape Structure and Biotic Interactions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About