The Effect of Nutrient Enrichment of Either the Bank or the Surface Water on Shoreline Vegetation and Decomposition

Sarneel, Judith M.; Geurts, J.J.M.; Beltman, B.; Lamers, Leon P. M.; Nijzink, M. M.; Soons, Merel B.; Verhoeven, Jos T. A.

doi:10.1007/s10021-010-9387-5

Cited by 23 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Grazing by waterfowl, fish and rodents affects the biomass and community composition in riparian and wetland plant communities (e.g. Evers et al ., ; Coops et al ., ; Dingemans et al ., ) and may explain reduced helophyte expansion or compromise restoration efforts (Smart et al ., ; Sarneel et al ., ). Our study shows that grazing has potentially strong effects on the establishment of macrophytes throughout the riparian zone, including floating species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic grazers reduce the establishment and growth of riparian plants along an environmental gradient

et al. 2013

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Summary The establishment of riparian plants is determined by abiotic conditions and grazing, although it is usually presumed that the former are most important. We tested the impact of aquatic grazers on the survival and growth of establishing riparian plants and whether the impact of grazing interacts with abiotic conditions. We conducted an experiment across 10 Dutch wetlands, covering a large range of water depth and nutrient availability. We introduced 1‐year‐old plants of an emergent (common reed, Phragmites australis) and a floating (water soldier, Stratiotes aloides) species in individual enclosures (n = 5 per site) that excluded predominantly waterbirds, which were the most abundant grazers, and on adjacent unprotected plots. Survival and growth were measured during one growing season. Grazing reduced growth (as biomass) of Phragmites and Stratiotes by a mean of 25 and 60%, respectively. Grazing decreased survival of Stratiotes, but not of Phragmites. Shallow water, water‐level fluctuations, eutrophic conditions and enough light favoured both growth and survival of Phragmites. Growth of Stratiotes was unaffected by these factors, but they reduced its survival. For both species, grazing effects on biomass were consistent across environmental conditions, but for Phragmites, grazing effects on survival were influenced by abiotic conditions. We conclude that aquatic grazers significantly reduce the establishment and growth of macrophytes in the riparian zone over a wide range of environmental conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic grazers reduce the establishment and growth of riparian plants along an environmental gradient

et al. 2013

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“…It can be expected that high nutrient levels in rewetted ex‐arable lands will stimulate decomposition. Literature results, however, are contrasting and include stimulation of decomposition, no effect, and even higher peat accumulation rates (Richardson & Marshall, ; Aerts & Toet, ; Kalbitz et al , ; Sarneel et al , ).…”

Section: Restoration Of Carbon Sequestration As An Ecosystem Servicementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence‐based approach

et al. 2014

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Fens represent a large array of ecosystem services, including the highest biodiversity found among wetlands, hydrological services, water purification and carbon sequestration. Land-use change and drainage has severely damaged or annihilated these services in many parts of North America and Europe; restoration plans are urgently needed at the landscape level. We review the major constraints on the restoration of rich fens and fen water bodies in agricultural areas in Europe and disturbed landscapes in North America: (i) habitat quality problems: drought, eutrophication, acidification, and toxicity, and (ii) recolonization problems: species pools, ecosystem fragmentation and connectivity, genetic variability, and invasive species; and here provide possible solutions. We discuss both positive and negative consequences of restoration measures, and their causes. The restoration of wetland ecosystem functioning and services has, for a long time, been based on a trial-and-error approach. By presenting research and practice on the restoration of rich fen ecosystems within agricultural areas, we demonstrate the importance of biogeochemical and ecological knowledge at different spatial scales for the management and restoration of biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services, especially in a changing climate. We define target processes that enable scientists, nature managers, water managers and policy makers to choose between different measures and to predict restoration prospects for different types of deteriorated fens and their starting conditions.

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“…Only relatively few studies experimented with P enrichment (Qualls and Richardson , Sarneel et al. ) or the combined effects of NPK enrichment (Carfrae et al. , Xing et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eutrophication triggers contrasting multilevel feedbacks on litter accumulation and decomposition in fens

Emsens

Aggenbach

Grootjans

et al. 2016

Ecology

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Eutrophication is a major threat for the persistence of nutrient-poor fens, as multilevel feedbacks on decomposition rates could trigger carbon loss and increase nutrient cycling. Here, we experimentally investigate the effects of macronutrient (NPK) enrichment on litter quality of six species of sedge (Carex sp.), which we relate to litter decomposition rates in a nutrient-poor and nutrient-rich environment. Our research focused on four levels: we examined how eutrophication alters (1) fresh litter production ("productivity shift"), (2) litter stoichiometry within the same species ("intraspecific shift"), (3) overall litter stoichiometry of the vegetation under the prediction that low-competitive species are outcompeted by fast-growing competitors ("interspecific shift"), and (4) litter decomposition rates due to an altered external environment (e.g., shifts in microbial activity; "exogenous shift"). Eutrophication triggered a strong increase in fresh litter production. Moreover, individuals of the same species produced litter with lower C:N and C:P ratios, higher K contents, and lower lignin, Ca and Mg contents (intraspecific shift), which increased litter decomposability. In addition, species typical for eutrophic conditions produced more easily degradable litter than did species typical for nutrient-poor conditions (interspecific shift). However, the effects of nutrient loading of the external environment (exogenous shift) were contradictory. Here, interactions between litter type and ambient nutrient level indicate that the (exogenous) effects of eutrophication on litter decomposition rates are strongly dependent of litter quality. Moreover, parameters of litter quality only correlated with decomposition rates for litter incubated in nutrient-poor environments, but not in eutrophic environments. This suggests that rates of litter decomposition can be uncoupled from litter stoichiometry under eutrophic conditions. In conclusion, our results show that eutrophication affects litter accumulation and -decomposition at multiple levels, in which stimulatory and inhibitory effects interact. The cumulative effect of these interactions ultimately determine whether peatlands remain sinks or become sources of carbon under eutrophic conditions.

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The Effect of Nutrient Enrichment of Either the Bank or the Surface Water on Shoreline Vegetation and Decomposition

Cited by 23 publications

References 38 publications

Aquatic grazers reduce the establishment and growth of riparian plants along an environmental gradient

Aquatic grazers reduce the establishment and growth of riparian plants along an environmental gradient

Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence‐based approach

Eutrophication triggers contrasting multilevel feedbacks on litter accumulation and decomposition in fens

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