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Composition and Biomass Productivity of Bryophyte Assemblages in Natural and Restored Marshes in the Prairie Pothole Region of Northern Minnesota

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Abstract

Cattail (Typha angustifolia)-dominated temperate marshes have high productivity and are valuable resources in the prairie pothole region of the northern USA. Whereas bryophytes of peatlands have been studied extensively, bryophytes in marsh assemblages in wetlands without peat accumulation have been largely overlooked, and bryophyte contribution to productivity in these systems has not been assessed. We studied bryophyte assemblage composition and biomass productivity in restored and natural marshes in northwestern Minnesota. Bryophyte species richness was low in all marshes but increased from submerged toward upland marsh vegetation zones. Under the cattail canopy, a dense carpet of Leptodictyum riparium dominated the bryophyte assemblage. Unlike marshes in the northern prairie pothole region and eastern Great Lakes region that are dominated by species of Drepanocladus, prairie wetlands in western Minnesota were dominated by L. riparium with D. aduncus relatively uncommon. Bryophyte biomass in natural marshes was comparable to that of bryophyte-dominated peatlands and increased over time in restored marshes. Natural wetlands had higher species richness, bryophyte cover and bryophyte biomass than restored wetlands and even after 34 years, the bryophyte assemblage in restored wetlands was not comparable to natural wetlands.

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Acknowledgments

Work on the Waterfowl Production Areas was completed with a permit from the Detroit Lakes Wetlands Management District of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). We thank Rebecca Esser at the USFWS office for providing information on wetlands and burning regimes and locating appropriate study sites. We thank Susan Studlar, West Virginia University for specimen identifications that facilitated our work and Claudia Murphy for help with field work. Funding was provided through a faculty development grant from Minnesota State University, Moorhead.

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  1. Minnesota State University, Moorhead, 1104 7th Ave South, Moorhead, MN, 56560, USA

    L. C. Fuselier, Donovan Donarski, Jordan Novacek, DeAnna Rastedt & Cheryl Peyton

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  1. L. C. Fuselier
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  2. Donovan Donarski
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  3. Jordan Novacek
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  4. DeAnna Rastedt
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Correspondence to L. C. Fuselier.

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Fuselier, L.C., Donarski, D., Novacek, J. et al. Composition and Biomass Productivity of Bryophyte Assemblages in Natural and Restored Marshes in the Prairie Pothole Region of Northern Minnesota. Wetlands 32, 1067–1078 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0337-1

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