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Responses of Spartina alterniflora to Multiple Stressors: Changing Precipitation Patterns, Accelerated Sea Level Rise, and Nutrient Enrichment

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Abstract

Coastal wetlands, well recognized for their ecosystem services, have faced many threats throughout the USA and elsewhere. While managers require good information on the net impact of these combined stressors on wetlands, little such information exists. We conducted a 4-month mesocosm study to analyze the multiple stressor effects of precipitation changes, sea level rise, and eutrophication on the salt marsh plant Spartina alterniflora. Pots containing plants in an organic soil matrix were positioned in tanks and received Narragansett Bay (RI, USA) water. The study simulated three precipitation levels (ambient daily rain, biweekly storm, and drought), three levels of tidal inundations (high (15 cm below mean high water (MHW)), mean (MHW), and low (15 cm above MHW)), and two nutrient enrichment levels (unenriched and nutrient-enriched bay water). Our results demonstrate that storm and drought stressors led to significantly less above- and belowground biomass than those in ambient rain conditions. Plants that were flooded at high inundation had less belowground biomass, fine roots, and shoots. Nutrients had no detectable effect on aboveground biomass, but the enriched pots had higher stem counts and more fine roots than unenriched pots, in addition to greater CO2 emission rates; however, the unenriched pots had significantly more coarse roots and rhizomes, which help to build peat in organogenic marshes. These results suggest that multiple stressors of altered precipitation, sea level rise, and nutrient enrichment would lead to reduced marsh sustainability.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Beth Watson, Kristen Jones, Joe Bishop, Gabrielle Sousa, and Kirk Silver for field and laboratory assistance; Kevin Kelly, John Sardelli, Bob Dow, Adam Kopacsi, and Russ Ahlgren for maintenance and construction of tanks and mesocosms; Kenneth Miller for statistical analysis; and Patricia DeCastro for graphical arts support. Sandi Robinson, Rick McKinney, and Giancarlo Cicchetti provided helpful input on an earlier version of the manuscript. This is ORD tracking number ORD-010361 of the U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division. Although the information in this document has been funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it does not necessarily reflect the views of the agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Atlantic Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA

    Alana Hanson, Roxanne Johnson, Cathleen Wigand, Autumn Oczkowski & Earl Davey

  2. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA

    Erin Markham

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  1. Alana Hanson
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  2. Roxanne Johnson
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Correspondence to Alana Hanson.

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Communicated by Carles Ibanez Marti

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Hanson, A., Johnson, R., Wigand, C. et al. Responses of Spartina alterniflora to Multiple Stressors: Changing Precipitation Patterns, Accelerated Sea Level Rise, and Nutrient Enrichment. Estuaries and Coasts 39, 1376–1385 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-016-0090-4

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