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Ditching and Ditch-Plugging in New England Salt Marshes: Effects on Plant Communities and Self-Maintenance

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Abstract

Salt marsh plant communities are regulated by feedback processes involving hydrologic regimes, disturbance, and marsh physical characteristics, and as expected differ among habitat types. Using three barrier beach salt marshes along the Gulf of Maine, we examined the effects of ditching and ditch-plugging on plant characteristics by means of comparisons to natural creek and pool habitats. Results indicated that ditch and creek habitats were similar in terms of species richness and diversity of emergent vascular plants, but cover and biomass were significantly higher in habitat adjacent to creeks. Plant composition in ditch habitat was distinguished by the higher percentage of forb species (associated with poor drainage), while the proportion of tall-form Spartina alterniflora was much higher in creek habitat (associated with sloping banks of creeks). These results are indicative of differences in hydrologic and disturbance regimes that can influence competitive and facilitative interactions, habitat structure, and heterogeneity. Results for pool comparisons indicated that plant characteristics were significantly different between ditch-plug and natural pools. Species richness, diversity, and biomass were significantly lower in ditch-plug habitat compared with all other habitats, and plant cover averaged only 30 % in habitat adjacent to ditch-plugs, which was significantly lower than all other habitats. These differences have ecological implications in terms of habitat structure and function of ditch-plug habitat. In addition, increased stress leading to plant dieback due to ditch-plugging has resulted in subsidence that can decrease the stability of ditch-plug habitat and expedite the loss of salt marsh habitat, especially with rising sea levels.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Beth Lambert at the New Hampshire Coastal Program, Ray Konisky at The Nature Conservancy, and Alyson Eberhardt and Chris Peter at the University of New Hampshire Jackson Estuarine Laboratory for their assistance. We also thank the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve for use of lab space. Additional thanks go to Fred Short and Tom Lee of UNH, and three anonymous reviewers, including Associate Editor Dr. Robert Christian, for their comments that improved this manuscript. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided special use permits for work at Chauncey Creek and Parker River marshes, and Bates College and The Nature Conservancy granted permission to work at Sprague River Marsh. This work is dedicated to our co-author, Dr. Michele Dionne, a talented scientist, mentor, colleague, and friend who contributed greatly to estuarine research and conservation. Dr. Dionne sadly passed away on July 4, 2012. Jackson Estuarine Laboratory Contribution #513.

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  1. Robert E. Vincent

    Present address: NOAA Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, 85 Adams Point Road, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    Robert E. Vincent & David M. Burdick

  2. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, 342 Laudholm Farm Road, Wells, ME, 04090, USA

    Michele Dionne

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  1. Robert E. Vincent
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Table 4 Vegetation percent cover non-parametric pair-wise comparisons using Wilcoxon/Mann–Whitney U
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Vincent, R.E., Burdick, D.M. & Dionne, M. Ditching and Ditch-Plugging in New England Salt Marshes: Effects on Plant Communities and Self-Maintenance. Estuaries and Coasts 37, 354–368 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-013-9671-7

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