Abstract
The expansion of the agricultural landscape has led to the fragmentation of floodplains. These remnant floodplain ponds serve as important habitats for aquatic plants. Hydrological connectivity between floodplain ponds, facilitated by artificial watercourses, plays an important role in providing a migration course for mobile animals, such as fish. However, little is known about the contribution of artificial watercourses to the dispersal of aquatic plants, which are passive dispersers, between floodplain ponds. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of hydrological connectivity through artificial watercourses and environmental factors on the structure and composition of aquatic plant communities in lowland floodplain ponds. Vegetation and environmental surveys of 20 floodplain ponds were conducted in the agricultural landscape of northern Japan. Path analysis was used to clarify the effects of local- and landscape-scale environmental variables on aquatic plant communities with respect to species richness and species coverage. The path analysis results suggested that both hydrological connectivity between floodplain ponds and eutrophication were influential determinants of the species richness of aquatic plant communities. The study findings indicate that water quality management, connectivity conservation, and restoration should be prioritized to maintain aquatic plant communities in degraded floodplain ponds.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The datasets generated in the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
Agami M, Waisei Y (1988) The role of mallard ducks (Anasplatyrhynchos) in distribution and germination of seeds of the submerged hydrophyte Najas marina L. Oecologia 68:473–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01036757
Akasaka M, Takamura N (2011) The relative importance of dispersal and the local environment for species richness in two aquatic plant growth forms. Oikos 120:38–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18497.x
Akasaka M, Takamura N (2012) Hydrologic connection between ponds positively affects macrophyte α and γ diversity but negatively affects β diversity. Ecology 93:967–973. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-0879.1
Akasaka M, Takamura N, Mitsuhashi H, Kadono Y (2010) Effects of land use on aquatic macrophyte diversity and water quality of ponds. Freshwater Biology 55:909–922. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02334.x
Baranyia G, Saurab S, Podanic J, Jordánd F (2011) Contribution of habitat patches to network connectivity: redundancy and uniqueness of topological indices. Ecological Indicators 11:1301–1310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.02.003
Barnes M, Jerde C, Keller D, Chadderton W, Howeth J, Lodge D (2013) Viability of Aquatic Plant Fragments following Desiccation.. Invasive Plant Sci and Management 6(2):320–325. https://doi.org/10.1614/IPSM-D-12-00060.1
Bolpagni R, Laini A, Buldrini F, Ziccardi G, Soana E, Pezzi G, Chiarucci A, Lipreti E, Armiraglio S, Nascimbene J (2020) Habitat morphology and connectivity better predict hydrophyte and wetland plant richness than land-use intensity in overexploited watersheds: evidence from the Po plain (northern Italy). Landscape Ecology 35:1827–1839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01060-2
Capers RS, Selsky R, Bugbee GJ (2010) The relative importance of local conditions and regional processes in structuring aquatic plant communities. Freshwater Biology 55:952–966. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02328.x
Coetzee JA, Hill MP, Schlange D (2009) Potential spread of the invasive plant Hydrilla verticillata in South Africa based on anthropogenic spread and climate suitability. Biological Invasions 11:801–812. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9294-2
Colwell RK, Chao A, Gotelli NJ, Lin SY, Mao CX, Chazdon RL, Longino JT (2012) Models and estimators linking individual-based and sample-based rarefaction, extrapolation and comparison of assemblages. Journal of Plant Ecology 5(1):3–21. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtr044
Dahlgren JP, Ehrlén J (2005) Distribution patterns of vascular plants in lakes ―the role of metapopulation dynamics. Ecography 28:49–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0906-7590.2005.04018.x
Egemose S, Jensen HS (2009) Phosphorus forms in urban and agricultural runoff: implications for management of danish Lake Nordborg. Lake and Reservoir Management 25:410–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/07438140903413228
Fan Y, Chen J, Shirkey G, John R, Wu SR, Park H, Shao C (2016) Applications of structural equation modeling (SEM) in ecological studies: an updated review. Ecological Processes 5:19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13717-016-0063-3
Fujita H (2017) Flora of the Marshlands from the Fields of Hokkaido. University of Tokyo Press, Tokyo
Geest GJV, Roozen FCJM, Coops H, Roijackers RMM, Buijse AD, Peeters ETHM, Scheffer M (2003) Vegetation abundance in lowland flood plan lakes determined by surface area, age and connectivity. Freshwater Biology 48:440–454. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.2003.01022.x
Geographical Information Authority of Japan (2000) Results of changes in wetland area throughout Japan revealed by the survey. https://www.gsi.go.jp/kankyochiri/shicchimenseki2.html. Accessed 15 Dec 2020
Geographical Information Authority of Japan (2005) Download service for numerical information on land in Japan. http://nlftp.mlit.go.jp/ksj/. Accessed 15 Dec 2020
Geographical Survey Institute (2020) Map and aerial photo viewing service. https://mapps.gsi.go.jp/maplibSearch.do#1. Accessed 1 Feb 2020.
Global Invasive Species Database (2022) Species profile: Ceratophyllum demersum. Downloaded from http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=281. Accessed 11 Dec 2022
Hamashima S (2008) Distribution of aquatic macrophytes and water chemistry in the irrigation reservoirs and ditches of Tokai District. J Phytogeography Taxonomy 56:63–71. https://doi.org/10.24517/00053394
Heidbüchel P, Jahns P, Hussner A (2019) Chlorophyll fluorometry sheds light on the role of desiccation resistance for vegetative overland dispersal of aquatic plants. Freshwater Biol 64:1401–1415. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.13313
Hiratsuka J, Yamamuro M, Ishitobi Y (2006) Satoumi Mokutori Story. –The underwater world 50 years ago–. Seibutsu Kenkyu-sha, Tokyo, p 141
Ikeda Town Hall (2021) Ikeda Town Hall, Hokkaido official website. Status of sewer culvert facilities. https://www.town.hokkaido-ikeda.lg.jp/gyoseijoho/tokeishiryo/jogesuido/702.html. Accessed 20 Feb 2022
Ikushima I (1972) Material production of watershed plant communities 1 ―aquatic Plants―. Kyoritsu-shuppan, Tokyo
Ishiyama N, Akasaka T, Nakamura F (2014) Mobility-dependent response of aquatic animal species richness to a wetland network in an agricultural landscape. Aquatic Sciences 76(3):437–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-014-0345-8
Ishiyama N, Koizumi I, Yuta T, Nakamura F (2015) Differential effects of spatial network structure and scale on population size and genetic diversity of the ninespine stickleback in a remnant wetland system. Freshwater Biology 60(4):733–744. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12525
Ishiyama N, Miura K, Yamanaka S, Negishi J, Nakamura F (2020) Contribution of small isolated habitats in creating refuges from biological invasions along a geomorphological gradient of floodplain waterbodies. Journal of Applied Ecology 57(3):548–558. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13546
James C, Fisher J, Russell V, Collings S, Moss B (2005) Nitrate availability and hydrophyte species richness in shallow lakes. Freshwater Biology 50:1049–1063. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2005.01375.x
Janne A, Antti K, Seppo H, Kari-Matti V, Minna K, Heikki H (2013) Environmental and spatial correlates of community composition, richness and status of boreal lake macrophytes. Ecological Indicators 32:172–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2013.03.031
Japan Meteorological Agency (2019) Mean of past weather in Ikeda, Hokkaido. http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_amd_ym.php?prec_no=20&block_no=0117&year=&month=&day=&view=. Accessed 15 Dec 2020
Jeppesen E, Jensen JP, Sondergaaed M, Lauridsen T, Landkildehus F (2000) Trophic structure, species richness and biodiversity in danish lakes: changes along a phosphorus gradient. Freshwater Biology 45:201–218. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.2000.00675.x
Kadono Y (1984) Comparative ecology of japanese Potamogeton: an extensive survey with special reference to growth form and life cycle. Ecol Soc Japan 34:161–172. https://doi.org/10.18960/seitai.34.2_161
Kadono Y (2007) Change in macrophytic flora of Lake Takkobu, Kushiro, Japan, in past 30 years. Japanese Journal of limnology 68: 105–108.
Kadono Y (2008) Aquatic plants of Japan. Bun-ichi Sogo Shuppan, Tokyo
Kadono Y (2014) A field guide to aquatic plants of Japan. Bun-ichi Sogo Shuppan, Tokyo
Keddy PA (1976) Lakes as Islands: the distributional ecology of two aquatic plants, Lemna minor and L. trisulca Ecology 57:353–359. https://doi.org/10.2307/1934824
Kuranchie A, Anim DO, Harmer A, Brunton DH (2022) The influence of season and landscape on the water quality of ponds at multiple spatial scales. Inland Waters: published online. https://doi.org/10.1080/20442041.2022.2077633. (26 Sep 2022)
Lacoul P, Freedman B (2006) Environmental influences on aquatic plants in freshwater ecosystems. Environmental Reviews 14:89–136. https://doi.org/10.1139/A06-001
Lee GF (1973) Role of phosphorus in eutrophication and diffuse source control. Water Research Pergamon Press 7:111–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-017697-0.50013-4
Lisa S, Carolyn B (2007) Linking land-use, water body type and water quality in Southern New Zealand. Landscape Ecology 22:231–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-006-9018-x
Matthew TO, Annette BP, Inga B, Anna F, Iain DMG, Attila NL, Raeannon S, Andrew JW, Michael JB (2018) Responses of aquatic plants to eutrophication in rivers: a revised conceptual model. Frontiers in Plant Science 9:451. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00451
Middleton B, Diggelen R, Jensen K (2006) Seed dispersal in fens. Applied Vegetation Science 9:279–284. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-109X.2006.tb00677.x
Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan (2015) Red Data Book 2014—Threatened Wildlife of Japan—Volume 8, vascular plants. Gyosei, Tokyo
Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan (2017) Biodiversity Center of Japan, Shape Data Download. http://gis.biodic.go.jp/webgis/sc-023.html. Accessed 15 Dec 2020
Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan (2019) Environmental standards for water pollution, Appendix 2 Environmental Standards for Conservation of Living Environment. https://www.env.go.jp/kijun/mizu.html. Accessed 17 Oct 2021
Mjelde M, Faafeng BA (1997) Ceratophyllum demersum hampers phytoplankton development in some small norwegian lakes over a wide range of phosphorus concentrations and geographical latitude. Freshwater Biology 37:355–365. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2427.1997.00159.x
Ohsono T, Matsuoka S, Fujinaga S, Hobara S, Okuda N (2015) The application of aquatic plant manure to efficiently utilize phosphorus in soil. Chikyu Kankyo 20:11–16
Okuyama K, Fujimaki Y (2001) Birds in the Tokachi region in Hokkaido (10) Anatidae in the swamp along the lower Tokachi River. Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine Academic Research Report 2:135–142
Opperman JJ, Luster R, McKenney BA, Roberts M, Meadows AW (2010) Ecologically functional floodplains: Connectivity, Flow Regime, and Scale. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 46:211–226. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00426.x
Pickman BN, Barnes MA (2017) Preliminary analysis reveals sediment burial decreases mass loss and increases survival of the aquatic invasive plant Hydrilla verticillata following desiccation over short time scales. Management of Biol Invasions 8: 517–522. https://doi.org/10.3391/mbi.2017.8.4.06
Pollux BJA (2011) The experimental study of seed dispersal by fish (ichthyochory). Freshwater Biol 56: 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2010.02493.x
R Core Team (2018) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. https://www.R-project.org
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (2018) Global Wetland Outlook: state of the World’s wetlands and their services to people. Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Gland, Switzerland
Rasran L, Vogt K (2017) Ditches as species-rich secondary habitats and refuge for meadow species in agricultural marsh grasslands. Applied Vegetation Science 21:21–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12337
Rosseel Y (2019) The lavaan Tutorial. http://lavaan.ugent.be/tutorial/tutorial.pdf. Accessed 15 Dec 2020
Sakurai Y, Yabe K, Katagiri K (2017) Factors controlling changes in the aquatic macrophyte communities from 1984 to 2009 in a pond in the cool-temperate zone of Japan. Limnology 18:153–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-016-0498-3
Santamaría L, Charalambidou I, Figuerola J, Green AJ (2002) Effect of passage through duck gut on germination of fennel pondweed seeds. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 156(1):11–22. https://doi.org/10.1127/0003-9136/2002/0156-0011
Saura S, Torné J (2012) Conefor 2.6 user manual (April 2012). Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Available at www.conefor.org.
Shimoda M, Hashimoto T (1993) Water plant distribution and water quality of irrigation ponds. Bull Water Plant Soc Japan 49:12–15
Shipley B (2016) Cause and correlation in biology: a user’s guide to path analysis, structural equations and causal inference with R. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Smits AJ, Van Ruremonde R, Velde VD (1989) Seed dispersal of three Nymphaeid macrophytes. Aquatic Botany 35:167–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3770(89)90103-4
Soomers H, Karssenberg D, Soons MB, Verweij PA, Verhoeven JT, Wassen MJ (2013) Wind and water dispersal of Wetland plants across fragmented landscapes. Ecosystems 16:434–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9619-y
Soons MB, Messelink JH, Jongejans E, Heil GW (2005) Habitat fragmentation reduces grassland connectivity for both short-distance and long-distance wind-dispersed forbs. Journal of Ecology 93:1214–1255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2005.01064.x
Sun J, Doeser A, Cao Y, Lv X, Li W, Liu F (2022) Regional macrophyte diversity is shaped by accumulative effects across waterbody types in southern China. Aquatic Botany 176(2):103468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2021.103468
Szalontai B, Stranczinger S, Mesterházy A, Scribailo RW, Les DH, Efremov AN, Jacono CC, Kipriyanova LM, Kaushik K, Laktionov AP, Terneus E, Csiky J (2018) Molecular phylogenetic analysis of Ceratophyllum L. taxa: a new perspective. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 188(2):161–172. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boy057
Takamura N, Kadono Y, Fukushima M, Nakagawa M, Kim BO (2003) Effects of aquatic macrophytes on water quality and phytoplankton communities in shallow lakes. Ecological Research 18:381–395. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1703.2003.00563.x
Toyokoro Town Hall (2022) The Fifth Comprehensive Plan for Town Development in Toyokoro Town. http://www.toyokoro.jp/docs/202104F0900011/files/2.pdf. Accessed 20 Feb 2022
Tsuda M (1972) Ecology of water pollution. Kogai-Taisaku Gijutsu Dokohkai, Tokyo
Umetsu CA, Evangelista HBA, Thomaz SM (2012) The colonization, regeneration, and growth rates of macrophytes from fragments: a comparison between exotic and native submerged aquatic species. Aquat Ecol 46: 443–449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-012-9413-0
Van den Berg MS, Scheffer M, Van Nes E, Coops H (1999) Dynamics and stability of Chara sp. and Potamogeton pectinatus in a shallow lake changing in eutrophication level. Hydrobiologia (incorporating JAQU) 408:335–342. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017074211970
Young A, Boyle T, Brown T (1996) The population genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation for plants. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 11:413–418. https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-5347(96)10045-8
Zhang J, Li S, Dong R, Jiang C, Ni M (2019) Influence of land use metrics at multi-spatial scale on seasonal water quality: a case study of river system in the three Gorges Reservoir Area, China. Journal of Cleaner Production 206:76–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.09.179
Acknowledgements
We thank H. Murakami for help with conducting field surveys. We received permission from the Toyokoro Town Hall to access the swamp. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18H03407 and the research fund for the Ishikari and Tokachi Rivers provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan.
Funding
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP18H03407 and the research fund for the Ishikari and Tokachi Rivers provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All the authors contributed to the conception and design of the study. The survey and analysis designs were developed by Yu Nagata, Nobuo Ishiyama, Futoshi Nakamura, and Junko Morimoto. Yu Nagata performed vegetation surveys, data collection, and analysis. Guidance for the analysis of nutrient level was provided by Hideaki Shibata and Karibu Fukuzawa. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Yu Nagata, and all the authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing Interests
The authors have no competing financial or non-financial interests to declare.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Nagata, Y., Ishiyama, N., Nakamura, F. et al. Contribution of Hydrological Connectivity in Maintaining Aquatic Plant Communities in Remnant Floodplain Ponds in Agricultural Landscapes. Wetlands 43, 38 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01684-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01684-5