Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Response of Schoenoplectus acutus and Schoenoplectus californicus at Different Life-History Stages to Hydrologic Regime

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

For wetland restoration success to be maximized, restoration managers need better information regarding how the frequency, depth, and duration of flooding affect soil chemistry and the survival, growth, and morphology of targeted plant species. In a greenhouse study we investigated the impact of four different flooding durations (0 %, 40 %, 60 %, and 100 %) on soil physicochemistry and the responses of seedlings and adults of two species of emergent wetland macrophytes commonly used in restoration efforts (Schoenoplectus acutus and Schoenoplectus californicus). The longest flooding duration, which created more reducing soil conditions, resulted in significantly reduced survival of S. acutus adults (34 ± 21 % survival) and complete mortality of seedlings of both species. Schoenoplectus californicus adults exhibited higher flooding tolerance, showing little impact of flooding on morphology and physiology. A companion field study indicated that S. californicus maintained stem strength regardless of flooding duration or depth, supporting the greenhouse study results. This information serves to improve our understanding of the ecological differences between these species as well as provide restoration managers with better guidelines for targeted elevation and hydrologic regimes for these species in order to enhance the success of restoration plantings and better predict restoration site development.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

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, Cox DT, Lemein T, Hyun-Doug Y (2013) Characterization of Schoenoplectus pungens in a great lakes coastal wetland and a Pacific northwestern estuary. Wetlands 33:445–458

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beatty RH (1964) Method for reducing lodging in small grains. United States Patent Office (3,314,777) Patented April 18, 1967

  • Blom CWPM, Voesenek LACJ (1996) Flooding: the survival strategies of plants. Tree 11:290–295

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bociąg K, Gałka A, Łazarewicz T, Szmeja J (2009) Mechanical strength of stems in aquatic macrophytes. Acta Soc Bot Pol 78:181–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boeger MR, Poulson ME (2003) Morphological adaptations and photosynthetic rates of amphibious Veronica anagalis-aquatica. L. under different flow regimes. Aquat Bot 75:123–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casanova MT, Brock MA (2000) How do depth, duration, and frequency of flooding influence the establishment of wetland plant communities? Plant Ecol 147:237–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford RMM (1982) Physiological responses to flooding. Physiological Plant Ecology II Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology 12:453–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dat JF, Capelli N, Folzer H, Bourgeade P, Badot P (2004) Sensing and signaling during plant flooding. Plant Physiol Biochem 42:273–282

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeLaune RD, Reddy KR (2005) Redox potential. Elsevier Ltd.

  • DeLaune RD, Smith CJ, Patrick WH (1983) Relationship of marsh elevation, redox potential, and sulfide to Spartina alterniflora productivity. Soil Sci Soc Am J 47:930–935

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eckert CG (1999) Clonal plant research: proliferation, integration, but not much evolution. Am J Bot 86:1649–1654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsey-Quirk T, Middleton BA, Proffitt CE (2009) Seed flotation and germination of salt marsh plants: the effects of stratification, salinity, and/or inundation regime. Aquat Bot 91:40–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galinato MI, van der Valk AG (1986) Seed germination traits of annuals and emergents recruited during drawdowns in the delta marsh, Manitoba, Canada. Aquat Bot 28:89–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper JL (1977) Population biology of plants. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Hester MW, Willis JM, Sloey TM (2015) Field assessment of environmental factors constraining the development and expansion of Schoenoplectus californicus marsh at a California tidal freshwater restoration site. Wetlands Ecology and Management(in review)

  • Jackson MB, Armstrong W (1999) Formation of aerenchyma and the processes of plant ventilation in relation to soil flooding and submergence. Plant Biol 1:274–287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones R, Etherington JR (1971) Comparative studies of plant growth and distribution in relation to waterlogging. J Ecol 59:793–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer PJ (1951) Causes of injury to plants resulting from flooding of the soil. Plant Physiol 26:722–736

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mandak B, Pysek P (2001) The effects of light quality, nitrate concentration and presence of bracteoles on germination of different fruit types in the heterocarpous Atriplex sagittata. J Ecol 89:149–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKee KL, Patrick WH (1988) The relationship of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) to tidaldatums: a review. Estuaries 11:143–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messina MG, Conner WH (1998) Southern forested wetlands. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, Florida

    Google Scholar 

  • Middleton BA (1999) Wetland restoration, flood pulsing, and disturbance dynamics. Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG (2007) Wetlands, Fourth edn. John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Sartoris GB, Belcher BA (1949) The effect of flooding on flowering and survival of sugar cane. Sugar 44:36–39

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute, Inc (2010) Enterprise Guide 4.2 On Demand. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, North Carolina

    Google Scholar 

  • Simenstad CA, Thom RM (1996) Functional equivalency trajectories of the restored Gog-Le-Hi-Te estuarine wetland. Ecol Appl 6:38–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sloey TS, Willis JM, Hester MW (2015) Hydrologic and edaphic constraints on S. acutus, S. californicus, and T. latifolia in tidal marsh restoration. Restoration Ecology (accepted March 2015)

  • Sorrell BK, Mendelssohn IA, McKee KL, Woods RA (2000) Ecophysiology of wetland plant roots: a modeling comparison of aeration in relation to species distribution. Ann Bot 86:675–685

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spink A, Rogers S (1996) The effects of a record flood on the aquatic vegetation of the upper Mississippi river system: some preliminary findings. Hydrobiologia 340:51–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanner CC (2001) Growth and nutrient dynamics of soft-stem bulrush in constructed wetlands treating nutrient-rich wastewaters. Wetl Ecol Manag 9:49–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiner RW (1999) Wetland indicators: a guide to wetland identification, delineation, classification, and mapping. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, Florida

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • United States Department of Agriculture/ Natural Resources Conservation Service (2014) Plant guide. Interagency Riparian/Wetland Project, Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, Idaho

    Google Scholar 

  • USDA/NRCS (United States Dept. of Agriculture/ Natural Resources Conservation Services (2012) Plants Database. www.plants.usda.gov

  • Van Bodegom PM, Sorrell BK, Oosthoek A, Bakker C, Aerts R (2008) Separating the effects of partial submergence and soil oxygen demand on plant physiology. Ecology 89:193–204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vervuren PJA, Blom CWPM, de Kroon H (2003) Extreme flooding events on the Rhine and the survival and distribution of riparian plant species. J Ecol 91:135–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voesnek LACJ, Rijnders JGM, Peeters AJM, van de Steeg HM, de Kroon H (2004) Plant hormones regulate fast shoot elongation under water: from genes to communities. Ecology 85:16–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson EB, Byrne R (2009) Abundance and diversity of tidal marsh plants along the salinity gradient of the San Francisco estuary: implications for global change ecology. Plant Ecol 205:113–128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiher E, Keddy PA (1995) The assembly of experimental wetland plant communities. Oikos 73:323–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whigham DF (1999) Ecological issues related to wetland preservation, restoration, creation and assessment. The Science of the Total Environment 240:31–40

  • Wijte AHB, Gallagher J (1996) Effects of oxygen availability and salinity on early life history stages of salt marsh plants. I. Difference germination strategies of Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis (Poaceae). Am J Bot 83:1337–1342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams PB, Orr MK (2002) Physical evolution of restored breached levee salt marshes in the San Francisco bay estuary. Restor Ecol 10:527–542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler JB (1997) Restoring tidal wetlands: a scientific view. National Wetlands News 19:8–11

Download references

Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was partially provided by the Society of Wetland Scientists’ student research grant program. Our sincere thanks is extended to members of the Coastal Plant Ecology Laboratory at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, LA, and Drs. Dennis Albert and Dan Cox of Oregon State University.

Additionally, we thank Drs. Scott France, Paul Leberg, and Beth Middleton for comments and manuscript review. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Plant Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

    Taylor M. Sloey

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, National Wetlands Research Center, 700 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, LA, USA

    Rebecca J. Howard

  3. Institute for Coastal and Water Research, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

    Mark W. Hester

Authors
  1. Taylor M. Sloey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rebecca J. Howard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mark W. Hester
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Taylor M. Sloey.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 27 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sloey, T.M., Howard, R.J. & Hester, M.W. Response of Schoenoplectus acutus and Schoenoplectus californicus at Different Life-History Stages to Hydrologic Regime. Wetlands 36, 37–46 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-015-0713-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-015-0713-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation