Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Controls on Water Levels and Salinity in a Barrier Island Mangrove, Indian River Lagoon, Florida

  • Article
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We examined controls on water levels and salinity in a mangrove on a carbonate barrier island along the Indian River Lagoon, east-central Florida. Piezometers were installed at 19 sites throughout the area. Groundwater was sampled at 17 of these sites seasonally for three years. Head measurements were taken at the other two sites at 15-minute intervals for one year. Water levels in the mangrove are almost always lower than lagoon water levels. Spectral analysis of water levels showed that mangrove groundwater levels are not tidally influenced. Salinities vary spatially, with values of ∼10 psu in uplands, ∼30 psu in regularly-flushed mangroves, and ∼75 psu in irregularly-flushed mangroves. Cation and anion concentrations and stable isotope compositions indicate that water salinities are largely controlled by enrichment due to evapotranspiration. A shore-perpendicular electrical resistivity survey showed that the freshwater lens is restricted to uplands and that hypersaline waters extend deeply below the mangrove. These results indicate that evapotranspiration lowers water levels in the mangrove, which causes Indian River Lagoon water to flow into the mangrove where it evapoconcentrates and descends, forming a thick layer of high-salinity water below the mangrove.

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
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alongi DM (2008) Mangrove forests: resilience, protection from tsunamis and responses to global climate change. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 76:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ataie-Ashtiani B, Volker RE, Lockington DA (2001) Tidal effects on groundwater dynamics in unconfined aquifers. Hydrological Processes 15:655–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball MC, Farquhar GD (1984) Photosynthetic and stomatal responses of two mangrove species, Aegiceras corniculatum and Avicennia marina, to long term salinity and humidity conditions. Plant Physiology 74:16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biber PD (2006) Measuring the effects of salinity stress in the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle L. African Journal of Agricultural Research 1:1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardona-Olarte P, Twilley RR, Krauss KW, Rivera-Monroy V (2006) Responses of neotropical mangrove seedlings grown in monoculture and mixed culture under treatments of hydroperiod and salinity. Hydrobiologia 569:325–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen R, Twilley RR (1999) Patterns of mangrove forest structure and soil nutrient dynamics along the Shark River Estuary, Florida. Estuaries 22:955–970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark ID, Fritz P (1997) Environmental isotopes in hydrogeology. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Clesceri LS, Greenberg AE, Eaton AD (1998) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig J (1961) Standard for reporting concentrations of deuterium and oxygen-18 in natural waters. Science 133:1833–1834

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dawes CJ (1998) Marine botany, 1st edn. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Donnelly T, Waldron S, Tait A, Dougans J, Bearhop S (2001) Hydrogen isotope analysis of natural abundance and deuterium-enriched waters by reduction over chromium on-line to a dynamic dual inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometer. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 15:1297–1303

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drexler JZ, De Carlo EW (2002) Source water partitioning as a means of characterizing hydrological function in mangroves. Wetlands Ecology and Management 10:103–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epstein S, Mayeda T (1953) Variation of O-18 content of waters from natural sources. Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta 4:213–224

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feller IC (1995) Effects of nutrient enrichment on growth and herbivory of dwarf red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Ecological Monographs 65:477–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gat JR (1996) Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the hydrologic cycle. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24:225–262

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonfiantini R (1978) Standards for stable isotope measurements in natural compounds. Nature 271:534–536

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonfiantini R (1986) Environmental isotopes in lake studies. In: Fritz P, Fontes J CH (eds) Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry 2, Elsevier, New York, pp. 113–116

  • Granek EF, Ruttenberg BI (2007) Protective capacity of mangroves during tropical storms: a case study from ‘Wilma’ and ‘Gamma’ in Belize. Marine Ecology Progress Series 343:101–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gubbins D (2004) Time series analysis and inverse theory for geophysicists. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes CE, Binning P, Willgoose GR (1998) Characterisation of the hydrology of an estuarine wetland. Journal of Hydrology 211:34–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson AI (1967) Specific yield - compilation of specific yields for various materials. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1662-D. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C

  • Kandasamy K, Narayanasamy R (2005) Coastal mangrove forests mitigated tsunami. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 65:601–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovelock CE, Feller IC, Ellis J, Schwarz AM, Hancock N, Nichols P, Sorrell B (2007) Mangrove growth in New Zealand estuaries: the role of nutrient enrichment at sites with contrasting rates of sedimentation. Oecologia 153:633–641

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lugo AE (1990) Fringe wetlands. In: Lugo AE, Brinson MM, Brown S (eds) Ecosystems of the world 15: forested wetlands. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 143–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Maidment DR (ed) (1993) Handbook of hydrology. McGraw-Hill Inc., New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Majoube M (1971) Fractionnement en oxygène-18 et en deuterium entre l’eau et sa vapeur. Journal of Chemical Physics 197:1423–1436

    Google Scholar 

  • McKee KL (1995) Interspecific variation in growth, biomass partitioning, and defensive characteristics of neotropical mangrove seedlings: response to light and nutrient availability. American Journal of Botany 82:299–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montague CL, Alexander VZ, Percival HF (1987) Ecological effets of coastal marsh impoundments: a review. Environmental Management 11:743–756

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Odum WE, McIvor CC (1990) Mangroves. In: Myers RL, Ewel JJ (eds) Ecosystems of Florida. University of Central Florida, Orlando, pp 517–548

    Google Scholar 

  • Rey J, Kain T (1991) A guide to the salt marsh impoundments of Florida. University of Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory

    Google Scholar 

  • Rey JR, Shaffer J, Crossman R, Tremain D (1990) Above‐ground primary production in impounded, ditched, and natural Batis‐Salicornia marshes along the Indian River Lagoon, Florida, USA. Wetlands 10:151–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera-Monroy VH, Madden CJ, Day JW Jr, Twilley RR, Vera-Herrera F, Alvarez-Guillén H (1998) Seasonal coupling of a tropical mangrove forest and an estuarine water column: Enhancement of aquatic primary productivity. Hydrobiologia 379:41–53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suárez N, Medina E (2005) Salinity effect on plant growth and leaf demography of the mangrove, Avicennia germinans L. Trees 19:721–727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sumner DM, Belaineh G (2005) Evaporation, precipitation, and associated salinity changes at a humid, subtropical estuary. Estuaries 28:844–855

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twilley RR, Chen R (1998) A water budget and hydrology model of a basin mangrove forest in Rookery Bay, Florida. Australian Journal of Freshwater and Marine Research 49:309–323

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree MT (1997) The Cohesion-Tension theory of sap ascent: current controversies. Journal of Experimental Botany 48:1753–1765

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Horwitz MH (2007) Erosional and depositional characteristics of regional overwash deposits caused by multiple hurricanes. Sedimentology 54:545–564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White WN (1932) A method of estimating ground-water supplies based on discharge by plants and evaporation from soil: results of investigations in Escalante Valley, Utah. US Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 659-A. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC

  • Zetina-Rejón MJ, Arreguín-Sánchez F, Chávez EA (2003) Trophic structure and flows of energy in the Huizache-Caimanero lagoon complex on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57:803–815

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Smithsonian Marine Sciences Network. This is contribution #811 from the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. Beth Fratesi, Kathryn Murphy, Pamela Stringer, Chris Reich, Jason Greenwood, and students in the USF Applied Geophysics course in Spring 2007 all helped with field data collection. We are grateful to Peter Swarzenski and the United States Geological Survey for the loan of the resistivity system and processing software. Jon Sumrall assisted by drafting Fig. 10.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Christina E. Stringer, Mark C. Rains & Sarah Kruse

  2. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD, 21037, USA

    Dennis Whigham

Authors
  1. Christina E. Stringer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark C. Rains
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sarah Kruse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Dennis Whigham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina E. Stringer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Stringer, C.E., Rains, M.C., Kruse, S. et al. Controls on Water Levels and Salinity in a Barrier Island Mangrove, Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Wetlands 30, 725–734 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0072-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0072-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation