Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Water Level Decline Promotes Typha X glauca Establishment and Vegetation Change in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands

  • Article
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Climate change is predicted to reduce Laurentian Great Lakes water levels, altering coastal wetland ecosystems and potentially stimulating invasive macrophytes, like Typha X glauca. Recent prolonged low water levels, which climaxed in 2007, created conditions comparable to those predicted by climate change science. In 2008, we examined ecosystem and plant community properties in 14 intact northern Great Lakes coastal wetlands and compared community data with data from a 1987–1989 high-water period, before T. X glauca invasion. In 2008, T. X glauca occurred in 50% of wetlands and 16% of plots; was associated with reduced Floristic Quality and increased soil organic matter, soil nutrients, and leaf litter (all p < 0.05); and plant community composition had shifted and was more homogeneous than in 1988 (both p < 0.05). Additionally, T. X glauca was more dominant when growing behind barrier beach ridges, which form in high-water conditions and persist in low-water, than in lake-exposed marshes (p < 0.05), revealing a physiographic mechanism for increased dominance. Beach ridges protect T. X glauca from wave and seiche energy, and as water levels decline, these energy-insulating microtopographic features will likely stimulate further invasion and dominance by T. X glauca, even in high quality wetlands.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albert DA (2008) Vegetation community indicators. In Burton TM, Brazner JC, Ciborowksi JJH, Grabas GP, Hummer J, Schneider J, Uzarski DG (eds) Great Lakes coastal wetlands monitoring plan. Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Consortium

  • Albert D, Minc L (2004) Plants as regional indicators of Great Lakes coastal wetland health. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management 7:233–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albert DA, Crispin SR, Reese G, Wilsmann LA, Ouwinga SJ (1987) A survey of great lakes marshes in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing, Technical Report 1987–02

    Google Scholar 

  • Albert DA, Reese G, Penskar MR, Wilsmann LA, Ouwinga SJ (1989) A survey of great lakes marshes in the northern half of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula and throughout Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing, Technical Report 1989–01

    Google Scholar 

  • Albert DA, Wilcox DA, Ingram JW, Thompson TA (2005) Hydrogeomorphic classification for Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Journal of Great Lakes Research 31:129–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angel JR, Kunkel KE (2010) The response of Great Lakes water levels to future climate scenarios with an emphasis on Lake Michigan-Huron. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36:51–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angeloni NL, Jankowski KJ, Tuchman NC, Kelly JJ (2006) Effects of an invasive cattail species (Typha x glauca) on sediment nitrogen and microbial community composition in a freshwater wetland. FEMS Microbiology Letters 263:86–92

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • APHA (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 21st edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Boers A (2005) The effects of stabilized water levels on invasion by hybrid cattail (Typha x glauca). PhD Dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • Boers AM, Zedler JB (2008) Stabilized water levels and Typha invasiveness. Wetlands 28:676–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boers AM, Veltman RLD, Zedler JB (2007) Typha x glauca dominance and extended hydroperiod constrain restoration of wetland diversity. Ecological Engineering 29:232–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis C, Van der Valk A (1978) The decomposition of standing and fallen litter of Typha glauca and Scirpus fluviatilis. Canadian Journal of Botany 56:662–675

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld JG (2003) Effects of exotic plant invasions on soil nutrient cycling processes. Ecosystems 6:503–523

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Farrer E, Goldberg D (2009) Litter drives ecosystem and plant community changes in cattail invasion. Ecological Applications 19:398–412

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freyman M (2008) The effect of litter accumulation of the invasive cattail Typha x glauca on a great lakes coastal marsh. Masters Thesis, Loyola University Chicago

  • Frieswyk CB, Zedler JB (2007) Vegetation change in great lakes coastal wetlands: deviation from the historical cycle. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33:366–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch SM, Anderson NO, Ascher PD (1999) Invasiveness in wetland plants in temperate North America. Wetlands 19:733–755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner W (1986) Water content. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis. Soil Science Society of America, Madison, pp 493–544

    Google Scholar 

  • Gathman JP, Albert DA, Burton TM (2005) Rapid plant community response to a water level peak in northern Lake Huron coastal wetlands. Journal of Great Lakes Research 31:160–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris S, Marshall W (1963) Ecology of water-level manipulations on a northern marsh. Ecology 44:331–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herman K, Masters L, Penskar MR, Reznicek AA, Wilhelm G, Brodowicz W, Gardiner K (2001) Floristic quality assessment with wetland categories and examples of computer applications for the state of Michigan. Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division, Natural Heritage Program, Lansing, Report 2001–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrick B, Wolf A (2005) Invasive plant species in diked vs. undiked Great Lakes wetlands. Journal of Great Lakes Research 31:277–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holeck K, Mills E, MacIsaac H, Dochoda M, Colautti R, Ricciardi A (2004) Bridging troubled waters: biological invasions, transoceanic shipping, and the Laurentian Great Lakes. Bioscience 54:919–929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keddy PA, Reznicek AA (1986) Great Lakes vegetation dynamics: the role of fluctuating water levels and buried seeds. Journal of Great Lakes Research 12:25–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kercher SM, Zedler JB (2004) Multiple disturbances accelerate invasion of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) in a mesocosm study. Oecologia 138:455–464

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kling GW, Hayhoe K, Johnson LB, Magnuson JJ, Polasky S, Robinson SK, Shuter BJ, Wander MM, Wuebbles DJ, Zak DR, Lindroth RL, Moser SC, Wilson ML (2003) Confronting climate change in the Great Lakes region: impacts on our communities and ecosystems. Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge Massachusetts, and Ecological Society of America, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Kost M, Albert D, Cohen J, Slaughter B, Schillo R, Weber C, Chapman K (2007) Natural communities of Michigan: classification and description. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing, Report 2007–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenters J (2001) Long-term trends in the seasonal cycle of Great Lakes water levels. Journal of Great Lakes Research 27:342–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lofgren B, Quinn F, Clites A, Assel R, Eberhardt A, Luukkonen C (2002) Evaluation of potential impacts on Great Lakes water resources based on climate scenarios of two GCMs. Journal of Great Lakes Research 28:537–554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnuson J, Webster K, Assel R, Bowser C, Dillon P, Eaton J, Evans H, Fee E, Hall R, Mortsch L (1997) Potential effects of climate changes on aquatic systems: Laurentian Great Lakes and Precambrian shield region. Hydrological processes 11:825–871

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maynard L, Wilcox D (1997) Coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes: background paper for the State of the Lake conference. Environment Canada; US Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago, IL, USA, and Toronto Canada. EPA 905-D-96-001c

  • McCune B, Grace JB (2002) Analysis of ecological communities. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald ME (1955) Cause and effects of a die-off of emergent vegetation. Journal of Wildlife Management 19:24–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills EL, Leach JH, Carlton JT, Secor CL (1993) Exotic species in the Great-Lakes—a history of biotic crises and anthropogenic introductions. Journal of Great Lakes Research 19:1–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Minc L (1997) Great Lakes coastal wetlands: an overview of controlling abiotic factors, regional distribution, and species composition. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Lansing, Report 1997–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortsch L (1998) Assessing the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes shoreline wetlands. Climatic Change 40:391–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortsch L, Quinn F (1996) Climate change scenarios for Great Lakes Basin ecosystem studies. Limnology and Oceanography 41:903–911

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NAIP (2007) Aerial photographs of Northern Michigan. In: National Agriculture Imagery Program. United States Geological Survey. Available via web. http://seamless.usgs.gov/index.php. Accessed 5 May 2008

  • Rahel F, Olden J (2008) Assessing the effects of climate change on aquatic invasive species. Conservation Biology 22:521–533

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2008) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. In Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria

  • Ricciardi A (2001) Facilitative interactions among aquatic invaders: is an “invasional meltdown” occurring in the Great Lakes? Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58:2513–2525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shay J, Shay C (1986) Prairie marshes in western Canada, with specific reference to the ecology of five emergent macrophytes. Canadian Journal of Botany 64:443–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith S (1967) Experimental and natural hybrids in North American Typha (Typhaceae). American Midland Naturalist 78:257–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith S (1987) Typha: its taxonomy and the ecological significance of hybrids. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 27:129–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Sousounis P, Grover E (2002) Potential future weather patterns over the Great Lakes region. Journal of Great Lakes Research 28:496–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trebitz AS (2006) Characterizing seiche and tide-driven daily water level fluctuations affecting coastal ecosystems of the Great Lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research 32:102–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trebitz AS, Taylor DL (2007) Exotic and invasive aquatic plants in great lakes coastal wetlands: distribution and relation to watershed land use and plant richness and cover. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33:705–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuchman NC, Jankowski KJ, Geddes P, Wildova R, Larkin D, Goldberg D (2009) Patterns of environmental change associates with Typha X glauca invasion in a great lakes coastal wetland. Wetlands 29:964–975

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tulbure MG, Johnston CA, Auger DL (2007) Rapid invasion of a Great Lakes coastal wetland by non-native Phragmites australis and Typha. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33:269–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USACE (2009) Historic great lakes water levels. In: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit, MI. Available via web. http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/greatlakes/hh/greatlakeswaterlevels/historicdata/. Accessed 2 Feb 2009

  • Vaccaro L, Bedford B, Johnston C (2009) Litter accumulation promotes dominance of invasive species of cattails (Typha spp.) in Lake Ontario wetlands. Wetlands 29:1036–1048

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vail L (2009) Soil nutrient changes following a Typha x glauca invasion in a Great Lakes coastal wetland. Masters Thesis, Loyola University Chicago

  • Voss E (1972) Michigan flora: a guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state: Part 1. Gymnosperms and monocots. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills

    Google Scholar 

  • Voss E (1985) Michigan flora: a guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part 2. Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae). Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills

    Google Scholar 

  • Voss E (1996) Michigan flora: a guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part 3, Dicots (Pyrolaceae-Compositae). Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills

    Google Scholar 

  • Waters I, Shay J (1990) A field study of the morphometric response of Typha glauca shoots to a water depth gradient. Canadian Journal of Botany 68:2339–2343

    Google Scholar 

  • Whyte R, Trexel-Kroll D, Klarer D, Shields R, Francko D (2008) The invasion and spread of Phragmites australis during a period of low water in a Lake Erie coastal wetland. Journal of Coastal Research 55:111–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox D (2004) Implications of hydrologic variability on the succession of plants in Great Lakes wetlands. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management 7:223–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox D, Meeker J (1991) Disturbance effects on aquatic vegetation in regulated and unregulated lakes in northern Minnesota. Canadian Journal of Botany 69:1542–1551

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox D, Nichols J (2008) The effects of water-level fluctuations on vegetation in a Lake Huron wetland. Wetlands 28:487–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox DA, Xie YC (2007) Predicting wetland plant community responses to proposed water-level-regulation plans for Lake Ontario: GIS-based modeling. Journal of Great Lakes Research 33:751–773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilcox DA, Kowalski KP, Hoare HL, Carlson ML, Morgan HN (2008) Cattail invasion of sedge/grass meadows in Lake Ontario: photointerpretation analysis of sixteen wetlands over five decades. Journal of Great Lakes Research 34:301–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woo I, Zedler JB (2002) Can nutrients alone shift a sedge meadow towards dominance by the invasive Typha x glauca? Wetlands 22:509–521

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by an award from the Loyola University Chicago Office of the Provost to N. Tuchman. We also thank the University of Michigan Biological Station for lab facilities. Particular thanks are due to K. Koch for assistance in the field; M. Grant for laboratory analytical services; D. Larkin for field and statistical assistance; and M. Mitchell, C. Smith, and D. Miceli for assistance in the field.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shane C. Lishawa.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Online Resource 1

(PDF 48 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lishawa, S.C., Albert, D.A. & Tuchman, N.C. Water Level Decline Promotes Typha X glauca Establishment and Vegetation Change in Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands. Wetlands 30, 1085–1096 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0113-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0113-z

Keywords

Navigation