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Halophyte recruitment in a salt marsh restoration site

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Abstract

In restored salt marshes, seedling recruitment can be limited where large areas of soil are exposed and physical conditions are harsh. On a 0.7-ha excavated marsh plain, we studied recruitment as a function of abiotic (elevation) and biotic factors in 2 × 2 m plots planted with 0, 1, 3, or 6 species from the pool of 8 native halophytes. The random draws of 3-species and 6-species assemblages produced approximately equal numbers of plants per species for the experiment as a whole, yet only three species recruited> 10 seedlings per plot.Salicornia virginica andSalicornia bigelovii each produced> 15,000 seedlings in 1998, andSuaeda esteroa produced> 2,500 seedlings in 1999. For these 3 species, seedling recruitment increased with elevation in 1998, but this trend weakened in 1999, when species richness affected recruitment (fewer seedlings in more species-rich plots). Abiotic effects preceded biotic interactions in determining seedling recruitment patterns early in the development of the salt marsh. Effects of species richness appeared to be scale-dependent in that having all species present in the site likely enhanced overall recruitment (all species had 2 or more seedlings), while plantings of 6 species in a 2 × 2 m plot reduced seedling density.S. virginica was the only species that increased its presence and relative cover in the experimental site over the 4-yr study. Protocols for planting southern California salt marsh restoration sites could omit this species, but all others probably need to be introduced to restore diverse vegetation.

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  1. Roberto Lindig-Cisneros

    Present address: Instituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Apdo. Postal 2-105, 58041, Morelia, Michoacán, México

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  1. Department of Botany and Arboretum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 430 Lincoln Drive, 53706, Madison, Wisconsin

    Roberto Lindig-Cisneros & Joy B. Zedler

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  1. Roberto Lindig-Cisneros
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  2. Joy B. Zedler
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Correspondence to Joy B. Zedler.

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Lindig-Cisneros, R., Zedler, J.B. Halophyte recruitment in a salt marsh restoration site. Estuaries 25, 1174–1183 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02692214

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