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Nitrogen Pools of Macrophyte Species in a Coastal Lagoon Salt Marsh: Implications for Seasonal Storage and Dispersal

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Abstract

High nitrogen (N) loading rates received by coastal bays can have deleterious effects on aquatic ecosystems. Salt marshes can intercept land-based N through seasonal plant uptake, denitrification, and burial. Salt marshes fringing Delaware’s Inland Bays are characterized by different plant species occurring in close proximity. To evaluate N pool retention and loss for the dominant plant species, we measured seasonal N concentration and pool size, N resorption efficiency, loss during decomposition, and soil N. Seasonal variation in N pools and fluxes differed among species. Seasonal differences in the total N pools of the herbaceous species were largely influenced by belowground fine root and dead macro-organic matter fluxes. N production rate estimates ranged from 18 g N m−2 year−1 aboveground for the high marsh shrub to 40.8 g N m−2 year−1 above- and belowground for the high marsh rush illustrating the importance of incorporating species-specific dynamics into ecosystem N budgets.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the University of Delaware Sea Grant and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant College Program (Seagrant no. NA05OAR4171041). The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the Department of Commerce. We would like to thank the volunteers that helped collect and process plant materials including J. Halchak, W. T. Quirk, M. League, J. Wang, K. Higashikubo, K. Tigani, D. Brady, M. Rhode, B. Ciotti, M. Tatinclaux, I. Ngirairikl, M. Jennis, C. Shelley, L. Krimsky, and J. Perelli.

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  1. Tracy Elsey-Quirk

    Present address: Patrick Center for Environmental Research, Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, 1900 Benjamin Franklyn Parkway, Philadelphia, PA, 19103, USA

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  1. College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, 700 Pilottown Road, Lewes, DE, 19958, USA

    Tracy Elsey-Quirk, Denise M. Seliskar & John L. Gallagher

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  1. Tracy Elsey-Quirk
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Correspondence to Tracy Elsey-Quirk.

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Elsey-Quirk, T., Seliskar, D.M. & Gallagher, J.L. Nitrogen Pools of Macrophyte Species in a Coastal Lagoon Salt Marsh: Implications for Seasonal Storage and Dispersal. Estuaries and Coasts 34, 470–482 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-011-9379-5

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