Abstract
Soil moisture is frequently manipulated by wetland managers to achieve a desired composition and production of plant species. Pink smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum) is a species valued by wetland managers because of its potential seed production and food base for migrating and wintering waterbirds. To improve ability to manage pink smartweed, we measured the influence of four growing-season soil moisture regimes (flooded, field capacity, prescribed moist-soil management, and continuously dry) in playa wetlands of the Southern High Plains of Texas. We used xylem water potential as an index of soil moisture available to the plants and compared vegetation and seed production among the four moisture treatments. Daily net photosynthesis was measured in each playa at 0900, 1200, and 1700 hours. The continuously-flooded wetland had the lowest absolute xylem water potential value (−0.294 MPa), followed by the playa at field capacity (−0.446 MPa), moist-soil managed playa (−0.758 MPa), and dry playa (−1.039 MPa). Vegetation biomass (F 3,40 = 97.7, P < 0.001) and seed production (F 3,40 = 54.3, P < 0.001) of pink smartweed differed among soil moisture treatments. Conducting moist-soil management (x = 6816 kg/ha) increased vegetation biomass by 44% over the dry treatment (x = 4706 kg/ha). As soil moisture increased to field capacity (x = 9010 kg/ha) vegetation increased by 32% above the moist-soil treatment. Maintaining standing water in a playa maximized vegetation production (x = 12497 kg/ha) of pink smartweed. Seed production was greatest when soil moisture was maintained at field capacity (x = 695 kg/ha). There was no difference in seed production between the moist-soil managed (x = 492 kg/ha) and flooded playas (x = 514 kg/ha), which was 28% lower than the field capacity treatment. Seed production in the dry treatment (x = 377 kg/ha) was 46% lower than the field capacity treatment and 25% below the flooded and moist-soil managed treatments. Net photosynthesis and xylem water potential decreased throughout the day in all treatments except continuously flooded, which corresponded to the increased vegetation production in this treatment. Slight increases in water stress relative to the continuously flooded treatment resulted in a redistribution of resources from vegetation to seed production. Managers should consider maintaining wetland soils at field capacity to increase seed production of pink smartweed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Allen, B. L., B. L. Harris, K. R. Davis, and G. B. Miller. 1972. The mineralogy and chemistry of High Plains playa lake soils and sediments. Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA. Water Resources Center Publication WRC-72-4.
Anderson, J. T. and L. M. Smith. 1998. Protein and energy production in playas: implications for migratory bird management. Wetlands 18: 437–446.
Bolen, E. G., L. M. Smith, and H. L. Schramm, Jr. 1989. Playa lakes: prairie wetlands of the Southern High Plains. BioScience 39: 615–623.
Brown, R. W. 1995. The water relations of range plants: adaptations to water deficits. p. 291–413. In D. J. Bedunah and R. E. Sosebee (eds.) Wildland Plants: Physiological Ecology and Developmental Morphology. Society for Range Management, Denver, CO, USA.
Cassel, D. K. and D. R. Nielsen. 1986. Field capacity and available water capacity. p. 901–926. In A. Klute (ed.) Methods of Soil Analysis: Part 1—Physical and Mineralogical Methods. Second edition. American Society of Agronomy—Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, USA.
Ernst, W. H. O. 1990. Ecophysiology of plants in waterlogged and flooded environments. Aquatic Botany 38: 73–90.
Grime, J. P. 1989. The stress debate: symptom of impending synthesis. Biological Journal of Linnean Society 37: 3–17.
Guthery, F. S. and F. C. Bryant. 1982. Status of playas in the Southern Great Plains. Wildlife Society Bulletin 12: 227–234.
Haukos, D. A. and L. M. Smith. 1993. Moist-soil management of playa lakes for migrating and wintering ducks. Wildlife Society Bulletin 21: 288–298.
Haukos, D. A. and L. M. Smith. 1994. Importance of playa wetlands to biodiversity of the Southern High Plains. Landscape and Urban Planning 28: 83–98.
Haukos, D. A. and L. M. Smith. 1995. Chemical composition of seeds from plants in playa wetlands. Wildlife Society Bulletin 23: 514–519.
Haukos, D. A. and L. M. Smith. 1996. Effects of moist-soil management on playa wetland soils. Wetlands 16: 143–149.
Haukos, D. A. and L. M. Smith. 1997. Common Flora of Playa Lakes. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, USA.
Haukos, D. A. and L. M. Smith. 2004. Plant communities of playa wetlands. Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA. Special Publication No. 47.
Kramer, P. J. 1983. Water Relations of Plants. Academic Press, New York, NY, USA.
Levitt, J. 1980. Responses of Plants to Environmental Stresses. Vol. II. Water, Radiation, Salt, and Other Stresses, second edition. Academic Press, New York, NY, USA.
McKee, K. L. and I. A. Mendelssohn. 1989. Response of a freshwater marsh plant community to increased salinity and increased water level. Aquatic Botany 34: 301–316.
Osmond, C. B., M. P. Austin, J. A. Berry, W. D. Billings, J. S. Boyer, J. W. H. Dacey, P. S. Nobel, S. D. Smith, and W. E. Winner. 1987. Stress physiology and the distribution of plants. BioScience 37: 38–48.
Otte, M. L. 2001. What is stress to a wetland plant? Environmental and Experimental Botany 46: 195–202.
Pezeshki, S. R. 1994. Plant responses to flooding. p. 289–321. In R. E. Wilkinson (ed.) Plant-Environment Interactions. Marcel Dekker, New York, NY, USA.
Pezeshki, S. R. 2001. Wetland plant response to soil flooding. Environmental and Experimental Botany 46: 299–312.
Pezeshki, S. R., R. D. DeLaune, and P. H. Anderson. 1999. Effect of flooding on elemental uptake and biomass allocation in seedlings of three bottomland tree species. Journal of Plant Nutrition 22: 1481–1494.
Raven, P. H., R. F. Evert, and S. E. Eichhorn. 1986. Biology of Plants. Worth Publishers, New York, NY, USA.
SAS Institute. 1999. SAS/STAT User’s Guide, Version 8. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
Scholander, P. F., H. T. Hammel, E. D. Bradstreet, and E. D. Hemmingsen. 1965. Sap pressure in vascular plants. Science 148: 339–346.
Sculthorpe, C. D. 1967. The Biology of Aquatic Vascular Plants. Edward Arnold Ltd., London, England.
Smith, L. M. 2003. Playas of the Great Plains. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, USA.
Smith, L. M. and D. A. Haukos. 2002. Floral diversity in relation to playa wetland area and watershed disturbance. Conservation Biology 16: 964–974.
Smith, L. M., D. A. Haukos, and R. M. Prather. 2004. Avian response to vegetative pattern in playa wetlands during winter. Wildlife Society Bulletin 32: 474–480.
Smith, L. M., R. L. Pederson, and R. M. Kaminski (eds). 1989. Habitat Management for Migrating and Wintering Waterfowl in North America. Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Sultan, S. E. and F. A. Bazzaz. 1993. Phenotypic plasticity in Polygonum persicaria. II. norms of reaction to soil moisture and the maintenance of genetic diversity. Evolution 47: 1032–1049.
Turner, N. C. 1988. Measurement of plant water status by the pressure chamber technique. Irrigation Science 9: 289–308.
Waring, R. H. and B. D. Cleary. 1967. Plant moisture stress: evaluation by pressure bomb. Science 155: 1248–1254.
Warwick, N. W. M. and M. A. Brock. 2003. Plant reproduction in temporary wetlands: the effects of seasonal timing, depth, and duration of flooding. Aquatic Botany 77: 153–167.
Wieland, N. K. and F. A. Bazzaz. 1975. Physiological ecology of three co-dominant successional annuals. Ecology 56: 681–688.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Haukos, D.A., Smith, L.M. Effects of soil water on seed production and photosynthesis of pink smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum L.) in playa wetlands. Wetlands 26, 265–270 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2006)26[265:EOSWOS]2.0.CO;2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2006)26[265:EOSWOS]2.0.CO;2