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Soil Salinity Impacts Future Community Composition of Coastal Forests

  • Wetlands and Climate Change
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Abstract

With projected increase in storms, sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion in low-lying terrestrial areas, compositional changes that favor more salt tolerant species are likely to occur. Wetland species are expanding into declining forested communities, primarily dominated by trees. Higher salinities for germination may preclude establishment of tree species. We examined the capacity for coastal tree species (Acer rubrum, Liquidambar styraciflua, Pinus taeda, Celtis occidentalis, Persea borbonia) and a wetland shrub (Morella cerifera) to germinate at salinity concentrations of 0, 2, 5, 10, and 20 ppt. A growth chamber experiment was established examining the effect of salinity on germination of common species found in mixed forests throughout the mid-Atlantic coastal plain and Gulf of Mexico, USA. The study revealed that regeneration from seed will be difficult for most of the selected species at salinities >5 ppt with implications for community composition with continued saltwater intrusion. Germination of A. rubrum was not impacted at higher salinities, with Pinus taeda not as affected other species. Morella cerifera did not have an advantage at the germination stage over selected tree species. Knowing threshold limits of germination response to salinity is critical for identifying future community trajectories.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research grants DEB-1237733 and DEB-1832221 to JC Zinnert and Ford Foundation Fellowship to NN Woods. The authors thank Amanda Faucette from North Carolina Botanical Garden at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for providing seeds, the Virginia Coast Reserve staff for logistical support, Dot Field with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation for permitted access to collect seeds on the eastern shore of Virginia and Caitlin Bishop, Joe Brown, Lauren Wood, Austin Tuley, Michael Sinclair, Audrey Kirschner, Eddie Long and Caroline Baucom for technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1000 W. Cary St., Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Natasha N. Woods & Julie C. Zinnert

  2. Biological Sciences Department, Moravian College, 1200 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA, 18018, USA

    Natasha N. Woods

  3. Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1015 Floyd Avenue, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Jenise L. Swall

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  1. Natasha N. Woods
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  2. Jenise L. Swall
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Correspondence to Natasha N. Woods.

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Woods, N.N., Swall, J.L. & Zinnert, J.C. Soil Salinity Impacts Future Community Composition of Coastal Forests. Wetlands 40, 1495–1503 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-020-01304-6

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