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Relationship between aboveground and belowground biomass ofSpartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass)

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Abstract

Aboveground and belowground biomass ofSpartina alterniflora were harvested during the period of peak aerial biomass from six sites along a latitudinal gradient ranging from Georgia to Nova Scotia. An equation relating live aboveground to live belowground biomass for short-form plants was formulated, using data collected in Delaware marshes. When data from the other sites were substituted into the equation, the mean live belowground biomass it predicted was within 15% of the value determined by harvesting at four of the five sites. At all sites, short-form plant live belowground biomass was concentrated in the upper 10 cm. Dead belowground biomass was located mostly in the top 15 cm in southern marshes, but was more evenly distributed with depth in northern marshes. Results were more ambiguous for tall-form plants, probably because of greater spatial variability in biomass distribution, and greater seasonal biomass dynamics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, 19716, Newark, Delaware

    Michael F. Gross & Vytautas Klemas

  2. Biology Department, University of Scranton, 18510, Scranton, Pennsylvania

    Michael A. Hardisky

  3. Biology Department, Lebanon Valley College, 17003, Annville, Pennsylvania

    Paul L. Wolf

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  1. Michael F. Gross
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  2. Michael A. Hardisky
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  3. Paul L. Wolf
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  4. Vytautas Klemas
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Gross, M.F., Hardisky, M.A., Wolf, P.L. et al. Relationship between aboveground and belowground biomass ofSpartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass). Estuaries 14, 180–191 (1991). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351692

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