Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Factors at Multiple Scales Influence Recruitment from Herbaceous Wetland Seed Banks in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

  • General Wetland Science
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In early successional stages, seedlings serve as a link between past and future wetland plant assemblages. Our objectives were to 1) enumerate seedling density in soil exposed to various hydrologic treatments 2) determine similarities between standing vegetation, germinated seedlings, and early successional stage assemblages, and 3) better understand effects of landscape-level factors on overall wetland seedling density. Soil samples were collected and standing vegetation characterized from 12 restored and three non-managed wetlands in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley (MAV). Seedling germination was observed in a greenhouse experiment, while early-stage plant assembly was followed in outdoor mesocosms. Hydrology significantly affected seedling density, with constantly moist treatments increasing seedling germination above that observed in fluctuating or continually inundated treatments. Standing vegetation in MAV wetlands differed from germinated seedlings; however, germinated seedlings were similar in terms of structure and identity to early successional mesocosm assemblages, indicating close linkages of these two vegetation stages. When landscape-level factors were examined, we found that wetland size was positively correlated, and surrounding land use and watershed nitrogen (N) loading negatively correlated with seedling numbers. Thus, seedling dynamics were affected by factors internal and external to wetlands, necessitating landscape-scale perspectives when making management decisions, even for individual wetlands.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amiaud B, Touzard B (2004) The relationship between soil seed bank, aboveground vegetation and disturbances in old embanked marshlands of Western France. Flora 199(1):25–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Artz DR, Waddington KD (2006) The effects of neighboring tree islands on pollinator density and diversity, and on pollination of a wet prairie species, Asclepias lanceolata (Apocynaceae). J Ecol 94:597–608

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker BH, Kröger R, Prevost JD, Pierce T, Ramirez-Avila JJ, Prince Czarnecki JM, Faust D, Flora C (2016) A field-scale investigation of nutrient and sediment reduction efficiencies of a low-technology best management practice: low-grade weirs. Ecol Eng 91:240–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlow JRB, Clark BR (2011) Simulation of water-use conservation scenarios for the Mississippi Delta using an existing regional groundwater flow model. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigation Report 2011–5019

  • Baskin CC, Baskin JM (1998) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. Academic Press Limited, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazzaz FA (1991) Habitat selection in plants. Am Nat 137:S116–S130

    Google Scholar 

  • Beas BJ, Smith LM, Hickman KR, LaGrange TG, Stutheit R (2013) Seed bank responses to wetland restoration: do restored wetlands resemble reference conditions following sediment removal? Aquat Bot 108:7–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekker RM, Bakker JP, Grandin U, Kalamees R, Milberg P, Poschlod P, Thompson K, Willems JH (1998) Seed size, shape and vertical distribution in the soil: indicators of seed longevity. Funct Ecol 12:834–842

    Google Scholar 

  • Bewley JD, Black M (1994) Seeds: physiology of development and germination, 2nd edn. Plenum Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock MA, Theodore K, O’Donnell L (1994) Seed-bank methods for Australian wetlands. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Resources 45:483–493

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks RP, Wardrop DH, Cole CA, Campbell DA (2005) are we purveyors of wetland homogeneity? A model of degradation and restoration to improve wetland mitigation performance. Ecol Eng 24:331–340

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown SC (1998) Remnant seed banks and vegetation as predictors of restored marsh vegetation. Can J Bot 76(4):620–629

    Google Scholar 

  • Budelsky RA, Galatowitsch SM (1999) Effects of moisture, temperature, and time on seed germination of five wetland Carices: implications for restoration. Restor Ecol 7(1):86–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Capon SJ (2007) Effects of flooding on seedling emergence from the soil seed bank of a large desert floodplain. Wetlands 27(4):904–914

    Google Scholar 

  • Casanova MT, Brock MA (1990) Charophyte germination and establishment from the seed bank of an Australian temporary lake. Aquat Bot 36(3):247–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Chevan A, Sutherland M (1991) Hierarchical partitioning. Am Stat 45(2):90–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark CM, Cleland EE, Collins SL, Fargione JE, Gough L, Gross KL, Pennings SC, Suding KN, Grace JB (2007) Environmental and plant community determinants of species loss following nitrogen enrichment. Ecol Lett 10(7):596–607

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connor EF, McCoy ED (1979) The statistics and biology of the species-area relationship. Am Nat 113(6):791–833

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawley MJ (1992) Seed predators and plant population dynamics. In: Fenner M (ed) Seeds: the ecology of restoration in plant communities. CAB International, Wallingford

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronk JK, Fennessy MS (2001) Wetland plants, biology and ecology. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosbie B, Chow-Fraser P (1999) Percentage land use in the watershed determines the water and sediment quality of 22 marshes in the Great Lakes basin. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 56(10):1787–1791

    Google Scholar 

  • Cui N, Wu J, Xaing D, Cheng S, Zhou Q (2013) A field study on seed banks and potential applications in restored vegetation of a polluted urban river in China. Ecol Eng 60:37–44

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Steven D, Sharitz RR, Singer JH, Barton CD (2006) Testing a passive revegetation approach for restoring coastal plain depression wetlands. Restor Ecol 14(3):452–460

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster MA, Gray MJ, Harper CA, Walls JG (2010) Comparison of agricultural seed loss in flooded and unflooded fields on the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 1(1):43–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson LH (1991) Strategies for water level manipulations in moist-soil systems. In: Cross DH, Vohs P (eds) Waterfowl management handbook. USFWS, Fort Collins

    Google Scholar 

  • Frieswyk KB, Zedler JB (2006) Do seed banks confer resilience to coastal wetland invaded by Typha x glauca? Can J Bot 84:1882–1893

    Google Scholar 

  • Galatowitsch SM, Whited DC, Lehtinen R, Husveth J, Schik K (2000) The vegetation of wet meadows in relation to their land-use. Environ Monit Assess 60:121–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Galinato MI, van der Valk AG (1986) Seed germination traits of annuals and emergents recruited during drawdowns in the Delta marsh, Manitoba, Canada. Aquat Bot 26:89–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Gianopulos K (2014) Coefficient of Conservatism database development for wetland plants occurring in the southeast United States. North Carolina Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources, Division of Water Resources: Wetlands Branch. Report to the EPA, Region 4

  • Godfrey RK, Wooten JW (1981) Aquatic and wetland plants of the southeastern United States: monocotyledons and dicotyledons. The University of Georgia Press, Athens

    Google Scholar 

  • Greet J, Cousens RD, Webb AJ, Prober S (2013) Flow regulation is associated with riverine soil seed bank composition within an agricultural landscape: potential implications for restoration. J Veg Sci 24(1):157–167

  • Grime JP, Hillier SH (1992) the contribution of seedling regeneration to the structure and dynamics of plant communities and larger units of landscape. In: seeds: the ecology of restoration in plant communities Fenner, M. ed. CAB international, Wallingford UK

  • Grömping U (2006) Relative importance for linear regression in R: the package relaimpo. J Stat Softw 17(1):1–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubb PJ (1977) The maintenance of species-richness in plant communities: the importance of the regeneration niche. Biol Rev 52(1):107–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagy HM, Straub JN, Kaminski RM (2011) Estimation and correction of seed recovery bias from moist-soil cores. J Wildl Manag 75(4):959–966

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagy HM, Straub JN, Schummer ML, Kaminski RM (2014) Annual variation in food densities and factors affecting wetland use by waterfowl in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Wildfowl:436–450

  • Heithaus ER, Stashko E, Anderson PK (1982) Cumulative effects of plant-animal interactions on seed production in Bauhinia ungulata, a neotropical legume. Ecology 63:1294–1302

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman BD, Madsen JD, Ervin GN (2006) Development of coefficients of conservatism for wetland vascular flora of north and Central Mississippi. GeoResources Institute Report 4001. http://www.gri.msstate.edu/publications/docs/2006/03/4097MS-Coeff-of-Conservatism.pdf, accessed 8 November 2019

  • Hopfensperger KN (2011) A review of similarity between seed bank and standing vegetation across ecosystems. Oikos 116:1438–1448

    Google Scholar 

  • Hölzel N, Otte A (2004) Ecological significance of seed germination characteristics in flood-meadow species. Flora 199:14–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Houlahan JE, Keddy PA, Makkay K, Findlay CS (2006) The effects of adjacent land use on wetland species richness and community composition. Wetlands 26(1):79–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson SE, Amatangelo KL, Townsend PA, Waller DM (2016) Large, connected floodplain forests prone to flooding best sustain plant diversity. Ecology 97(11):3019–3030

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jutila HM (2003) Germination in Baltic coastal wetland meadows: similarities and differences between vegetation and seed bank. Plant Ecol 166(2):275–293

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenow KP, Lyon JE (2009) Composition of the seed bank in drawdown areas of navigation Pool 8 of the upper Mississippi River. River Res Appl 25:194–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Kettenring KM, Galatowitsch SM (2011) Carex seedling emergence in restored and natural prairie wetlands. Wetlands 31(2):273–281

    Google Scholar 

  • King SL, Twedt DJ, Wilson RR (2006) The role of the wetland reserve program in conservation efforts in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. Wildl Soc Bull 34(4):914–920

    Google Scholar 

  • Krementz DG, Asante K, Naylor LW (2012) Autumn migration of Mississippi flyway mallards as determined by satellite telemetry. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 3(2):238–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Kross J, Kaminski RM, Reinecke KJ, Penny EJ, Pearse AT (2008) Moist-soil seed abundance in managed wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. J Wildl Manag 72(3):707–714

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutcher TE, Forrester GE (2018) Evaluating how variants of floristic quality assessment indicate wetland condition. J Environ Manag 217:231–239

    Google Scholar 

  • La Peyre MKG, Bush Thom CS, Winslow C, Caldwell A, Nyman JA (2005) Comparison of seed bank size and composition in fringing, restored, and impounded marsh in Southwest Louisiana. Southeast Nat 4(2):273–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavretsky P, Miller JH, Bahn V, Peters JL (2014) Exploring fall migratory patterns of American black ducks using eight decades of band-recovery data. J Wildl Manag 78(6):997–1004

    Google Scholar 

  • Leck MA (1989) Wetland seed banks. In: Ecology of Soil Seed Banks, Leck, M.A., Parker, V.T., Simpson, R.L., Academic Press Inc., San Diego, CA. USA

  • Leck MA, Simpson RL (1995) Ten-year seed bank and vegetation dynamics of a tidal freshwater marsh. Am J Bot 82(12):1547–1557

    Google Scholar 

  • LMVJV Forest Resource Conservation Working Group (2007) restoration, management, and monitoring of forest resources in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: recommendations for enhancing wildlife habitat, in: Wilson, R. et al. (Eds.), Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture, Vicksburg

  • Lopez RD, Fennessy MS (2002) Testing the floristic quality assessment index as an indicator of wetland condition. Ecol Appl 12:487–497

    Google Scholar 

  • Mahaney WM, Wardrop DH, Brooks RP (2004) Impacts of sedimentation and nitrogen enrichment on wetland plant community development. Plant Ecol 175:227–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews JW, Spyreas G (2010) Convergence and divergence in plant community trajectories as a framework for monitoring wetland restoration progress. J Appl Ecol 47:1128–1136

    Google Scholar 

  • Middleton B, van Diggelen R, Jensen K (2006) Seed dispersal in fens. Appl Veg Sci 9:279–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG (2007) Wetlands, 4th edn. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore KA (2009) Fluctuating patch boundaries in a native annual forb: the roles of niche and dispersal limitation. Ecology 90(2):378–387

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch AJ, Ellis RH (1992) Longevity, viability and dormancy. In: seeds: the ecology of restoration in plant communities Fenner, M. ed. CAB international, Wallingford UK

  • Murkin HR, van der Valk AG, Clark WR, Goldsborough LG, Wrubleski DA, Kadlec JA (2000) Marsh ecology research program: management implications for prairie wetlands. In: Murkin HR, van der Valk AG, Clark WR (eds) Prairie wetland ecology: the contribution of the marsh ecology research program. Iowa State University Press, Ames

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelms KD (2007) Wetland management for waterfowl handbook. Mississippi River Trust, NRCS, and USFWS. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_016986.pdf Accessed 8 November 2019

  • Nilsson SG, Wästljung U (1987) Seed predation and cross-pollination in mast-seeding beech (Fagus sylvatica) patches. Ecology 68(2):260–265

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell JL, Johnson LA, Beas BJ, Smith LM, McMurry ST, Haukos DA (2013) Predicting dispersal-limitation in plants: optimizing planting decisions for isolated wetland restoration in agricultural landscapes. Biol Conserv 159:343–354

    Google Scholar 

  • Olmstead VG, Webb EB, Johnson RW (2013) Moist-soil seed biomass and species richness on wetland reserve program easements in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Wetlands 33:197–206

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozinga WA, Hennekens SM, Schaminée JHJ, Smits NAC, Bekker RM, Römermann C, Klimeš L, Bakker JP, van Groenendael JM (2007) Local above-ground persistence of vascular plants: life history trade-offs and environmental constraints. J Veg Sci 18:489–497

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson JE, Baldwin AH (2004) Seedling emergence from seed banks in tidal freshwater wetlands: response to inundation and sedimentation. Aquat Bot 78:243–254

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2017) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna https://www.R-project.org/

  • Rebich RA, Houston NA, Mize SV, Pearson DK, Ging PB, Horning CE (2011) Sources and delivery of nutrients to the northwestern Gulf of Mexico from streams in the south-Central United States. J Am Water Resour Assoc 47(5):1061–1086

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Reinecke KJ, Hartke KM (2005) Estimating moist-soil seeds available to waterfowl with double sampling for stratification. J Wildl Manag 69:794–799

    Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KR, DeLaune RD (2008) Biogeochemistry of wetlands: science and applications, vol 800. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson HA, James KR (2007) Plant establishment from the seed bank of a degraded floodplain wetland: a comparison of two alternative management scenarios. Plant Ecol 188(2):145–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossell IM, Wells CL (1999) The seed banks of a southern Appalachian fen and an adjacent degraded wetland. Wetlands 19(2):365–371

    Google Scholar 

  • Sculthorpe CD (1967) The biology of aquatic vascular plants. Edward Arnold, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Schöpke B, Heinze J, Pätzig M, Heinken T (2019) Do dispersal traits of wetland plant species explain tolerance against isolation effects in naturally fragmented habitats? Plant Ecol 220(9):801–815

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoemaker CM, Ervin GN, DiOrio EW (2017) Interplay of water quality and vegetation in restored wetland plant assemblages from an agricultural landscape. Ecol Eng 108A:255–262

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoemaker CM (2018) Drivers of wetland plant assemblages in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. Dissertation, Mississippi State University, http://sun.library.msstate.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-10212018-124052/unrestricted/PQFINAL.pdf

  • Smith LM, Kadlec JA (1983) Seed banks and their role during drawdown of a north American marsh. J Appl Ecol 20(2):673–684

    Google Scholar 

  • Stroh PA, Hughes FMR, Sparks TH, Mountford JO (2012) The influence of time on the soil seed bank and vegetation across a landscape-scale wetland restoration project. Restor Ecol 20(1):103–112

  • Thiébaut G, Muller S (1999) A macrophyte communities’ sequence as an indicator of eutrophication and acidification levels in weakly mineralized streams in North-Eastern France. Hydrobiologia 410:17–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K (1992) The functional ecology of seed banks. In: Seeds: the ecology of restoration in plant communities Fenner, M. ed. CAB International, Wallingford

  • van der Valk AG, Pederson RL, Davis CB (1992) Restoration and creation of freshwater wetlands using seed banks. Wetl Ecol Manag 1(4):191–197

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Valk AG, Rosburg TR (1997) Seed bank composition along a phosphorus gradient in the northern Florida Everglades. Wetlands 17(2):228–236

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Valk AG (2000) Vegetation dynamics and models. In: Murkin HR, van der Valk AG, Clark WR (eds) Prairie wetland ecology: the contribution of the marsh ecology research program. Iowa State University Press, Ames

    Google Scholar 

  • Vosse S, Esler KJ, Richardson DM, Holmes PM (2008) Can riparian seed banks initiate restoration after alien plant invasion? Evidence from the Western Cape, South Africa. S Afr J Bot 74:432–444

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetzel PR, Valk AG, Toth LA (2001) Restoration of wetland vegetation on the Kissimmee river floodplain: potential role of seed banks. Wetlands 21(2):189–198

  • Wienhold CE, van der Valk AG (1989) The impact of duration of drainage on the seed banks of northern prairie wetlands. Can J Bot 67(6):1878–1884

  • Wren DG, Davidson GR, Walker WG, Galicki SJ (2008) The evolution of an oxbow lake in the Mississippi alluvial floodplain. J Soil Water Conserv 63(3):129–121

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mr. Kevin Nelms for assistance and facilitation in identifying WRP sites in the MAV and Evelyn DiOrio for greenhouse assistance. The authors also appreciate the insightful comments of two anonymous reviewers. This research was supported by the Mississippi Water Resource Research Institute (grant number G11AP20088), as well as the Mississippi State University Department of Biological Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Slippery Rock University, 1 Morrow Way, Slippery Rock, PA, 16057, USA

    Cory M. Shoemaker

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, PO Box GY, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Gary N. Ervin

Authors
  1. Cory M. Shoemaker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gary N. Ervin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cory M. Shoemaker.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 82 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shoemaker, C.M., Ervin, G.N. Factors at Multiple Scales Influence Recruitment from Herbaceous Wetland Seed Banks in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Wetlands 40, 1161–1172 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01248-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01248-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation