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Nitrogen limitation of growth and nutrient dynamics in a disturbed mangrove forest, Indian River Lagoon, Florida

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Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine effects of nutrient enrichment on plant growth, nutrient dynamics, and photosynthesis in a disturbed mangrove forest in an abandoned mosquito impoundment in Florida. Impounding altered the hydrology and soil chemistry of the site. In 1997, we established a factorial experiment along a tree-height gradient with three zones, i.e., fringe, transition, dwarf, and three fertilizer treatment levels, i.e., nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), control, in Mosquito Impoundment 23 on the eastern side of Indian River. Transects traversed the forest perpendicular to the shoreline, from a Rhizophora mangle-dominated fringe through an Avicennia germinans stand of intermediate height, and into a scrub or dwarf stand of A. germinans in the hinterland. Growth rates increased significantly in response to N fertilization. Our growth data indicated that this site is N-limited along the tree-height gradient. After 2 years of N addition, dwarf trees resembled vigorously growing saplings. Addition of N also affected internal dynamics of N and P and caused increases in rates of photosynthesis. These findings contrast with results for a R. mangle-dominated forest in Belize where the fringe is N-limited, but the dwarf zone is P-limited and the transition zone is co-limited by N and P. This study demonstrated that patterns of nutrient limitation in mangrove ecosystems are complex, that not all processes respond similarly to the same nutrient, and that similar habitats are not limited by the same nutrient when different mangrove forests are compared.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Mary Rice for support and permission to work at the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, Fla. We also thank Woody Lee, Jay O'Neill, Anne Chamberlain, Ryoji Shimamura, and Patricia Faulkner for assistance in the field and with analyses. Comments by reviews at NWRC greatly improved this manuscript. Financial support was provided by research grants from the Smithsonian's Environmental Science Program, Smithsonian Institution, and the National Science Foundation DEB-9981535 to I.C.F. Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce Contribution No. 542.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, P.O. Box 28, Edgewater, MD 21037, USA

    Ilka C. Feller, Dennis F. Whigham & Catherine E. Lovelock

  2. National Wetlands Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 700 Cajundome Boulevard, Lafayette, LA 70506, USA

    Karen L. McKee

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  1. Ilka C. Feller
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  2. Dennis F. Whigham
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  3. Karen L. McKee
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  4. Catherine E. Lovelock
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Correspondence to Ilka C. Feller.

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Feller, I.C., Whigham, D.F., McKee, K.L. et al. Nitrogen limitation of growth and nutrient dynamics in a disturbed mangrove forest, Indian River Lagoon, Florida. Oecologia 134, 405–414 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-002-1117-z

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