Abstract
Flood sensitivity of five woody species common to barrier island swale habitats was quantified in a glasshouse study to examine potential mechanisms affecting observed small-scale distribution patterns. Differential response to short-term (30 d duration) freshwater and saltwater flooding occurred among the five species. OnlyBaccharis halimifolia was sensitive to freshwater flooding. At both low (2 and 5 g L−1) and mid-range (10 g L−1) salinity,Myrica cerifera, Pinus taeda, andB. halimifolia were more sensitive thanJuniperus virginiana orIva frutescens. At low salinity, stomatal conductance was significantly reduced forM. cerifera, P. taeda, andB. halimifolia, although recovery occurred and there was no mortality. At midrange salinity, all five species showed reduced stomatal conductance, but recovery differed. Mortality was highest forM. cerifera andB. halimifolia (60%), followed byP. taeda (40%),I. frutescens (25%), andJ. virginiana (20%). In contrast, 100% mortality occurred for all species in high salinity treatments of 20 and 30 g L−1. Interspecific differences in response to flooding may be a mechanism affecting small-scale distribution patterns of woody species in barrier island swales.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Armstrong, W., E.J. Wright, S. Lythe, and T.J. Gaynard. 1985. Plant zonation and the effects of the spring-neap tidal cycle on soil aeration in a Humber salt marsh. Journal of Ecology 73:323–339.
Barbour, M.G., T.M. Dejong, and B.M. Pavlik. 1985. Marine beach and dune plant communities. p. 296–322.In B.F. Chabot and H.A. Mooney (eds.) Physiological Ecology of North American Plant Communities. Chapman and Hall, New York, NY, USA.
Bertness, M.D., K. Wikler, and T. Chatkupt. 1992. Flood tolerance and the distribution ofIva frutescens across New England salt marshes. Oecologia 91:171–178.
Clark, J.S. 1986. Dynamism in the barrier-beach vegetation of Great South Beach, New York. Ecological Monographs 56:97–126.
Conner, W.H. 1994. The effect of salinity and waterlogging on growth and survival of baldcypress and chinese tallow seedlings. Journal of Coastal Research 10:1045–1049.
Conner, W.H. and R. Askew. 1992. Response of Baldcypress and Loblolly pine seedlings to short-term saltwater flooding. Wetlands 12:230–233.
Crawford, R.M.M. 1989. Studies in plant survival. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, England.
Dougherty, K.M., I.A. Mendelssohn, and F.J. Monteferrante. 1990. Effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium additions on plant biomass and soil nutrient content of a swale barrier strand community in Louisiana. Annals of Botany 66:265–271.
Dueser, R.D., M.A. Graham, G.J. Hennessy, C. McCaffrey, A.W. Niederoda, T.W. Rice, and B. Williams. 1976. Ecosystem description: the Virginia Coast Reserve Study. Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA, USA.
Ehrenfeld, J.G. 1990. Dynamics and processes of barrier island vegetation. Reviews in Aquatic Science 2:437–480.
Fahrig, L., B. Hayden, and R. Dolan. 1993. Distribution of barrier island plants in relation to overwash disturbance: a test of life history theory. Journal of Coastal Research 9:403–412.
Gale, J. 1975. Water balance and gas exchange of plants under saline conditions. p. 168–185.In A. Poljakoff-Mayber and J. Gale (eds.) Plants in Saline Environments. Springer-Verlag, New York, NY, USA.
Hale, M.G. and D.M. Orcutt. 1987. The Physiology of Plants Under Stress. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, USA.
Johnson, S.R. and D.R. Young. 1993. Factors contributing to the decline ofPinus taeda on a Virginia barrier island. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 120:431–438.
Levitt, J. 1980. Response of Plants to Environmental Stresses. Academic Press, New York, NY, USA.
McCaffrey, C.A. and R.D. Dueser. 1990. Plant associations on the Virginia barrier islands. Virginia Journal of Sciences 41:282–299.
Morholt, E., P.F. Brandwein, and A. Joseph. 1958. A Sourcebook for the Biological Sciences. Harcourt, Brace, & Co., New York, NY, USA.
Munns, R., and A. Termaat. 1986. Whole plant response to salinity. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 13:143–160.
Oosting, H.J. and W.D. Billings. 1942. Factors effecting vegetational zonation on coastal dunes. Ecology 23:131–141.
Parker, J. 1950. The effects of flooding on the transpiration and survival of some southeastern forest tree species. Plant Physiology 25:453–460.
Pezeshki, S.R. 1992. Response ofPinus taeda L. to soil flooding and salinity. Annales des Sciences Forestieres 49:149–159.
Pezeshki, S.R., R.D. DeLaune, and W.H. Patrick, Jr. 1990a. Differential response of selected mangroves to soil flooding and salinity: gas exchange and biomass partitioning. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 20:869–874.
Pezeshki, S.R., R.D. DeLaune, and W.H. Patrick, Jr. 1990b. Flooding and saltwater intrusion: potential effects on survival and productivity of wetland forests along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Forest Ecology and Management 33/34:287–301.
Ranwell, D.S. 1972. Ecology of salt marshes and sand dunes. Chapman and Hall, London, England.
Sande, E. and D.R. Young. 1992. Effect of sodium chloride on growth and nitrogenase activity in seedlings ofMyrica cerifera I. New Phytologist 120:345–350.
Schat, H. 1984. A comparative ecophysiological study on the effects of waterlogging and submergence on dune slack plants: growth, survival and mineral nutrition in sand culture experiments. Oecologia 62:279–286.
Seliskar, D.M. 1990. the role of waterlogging and sand accretion in modulating the morphology of the dune slack plantScirpus americanas. Canadian Journal of Botany 68:1780–1787.
Stalter, R. and W.E. Odum. 1993. Maritime communities. p. 117–163.In W.M. Martin, S.G. Boyce, and C. Echternacht (eds.) Biodiversity of the Southeastern United States: Lowland Terrestrial Communities. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY, USA.
Studer-Ehrensberger, K., C. Studer, and R.M.M. Crawford. 1993. Competition at community boundaries: mechanisms of vegetation structure in a dune-slack complex. Functional Ecology 7:156–168.
Young, D.R., D.L. Erickson, and S.W. Semones. 1994. Salinity and the small-scale distribution of three barrier island shrubs. Canadian Journal of Botany 72:1365–1372.
Young, D.R., G. Shao, and M.M. Brinson. 1995a. The impact of the October 1991 northeaster storm on barrier island shrub thickets (Myrica cerifera). Journal of Coastal Research 11:1322–1328.
Young, D.R., G. Shao, and J.H. Porter. 1995b. Spatial and temporal growth dynamics of barrier island shrub thickets. American Journal of Botany 82:638–645.
Zar, J.H. 1984. Biostatistical Analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tolliver, K.S., Martin, D.W. & Young, D.R. Freshwater and saltwater flooding response for woody species common to barrier island swales. Wetlands 17, 10–18 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160714
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160714