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Soil Algal Abundance in a Subtropical Saltmarsh After Surface Restoration

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Abstract

The recent listing of saltmarsh in northern New South Wales, Australia, as an endangered ecological community has highlighted the need to rehabilitate damaged saltmarsh and create new areas to offset losses. Land managers require scientific measurements of the early stages of restoration for adaptive management but the interpretation of the data should account for environmental factors. In this study of a degraded and rehabilitated subtropical saltmarsh on the east coast of Australia, measurements of the changes in the soil microalgal community using chlorophyll a showed the differences between reference sites and treatment sites. Analyses of across-site variables showed that solar radiation, rainfall, and tidal inundation influenced microalgal growth, highlighting the importance of seasonal studies. Microalgal abundances showed relationships with developing site variables such as percentage soil moisture, total organic carbon, and total nitrogen. MDS analyses using chlorophyll a showed that the restoration sites were progressing towards, but were not equivalent to the reference state in the short time since restoration (two years) despite the fast growth rates of soil algae.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council (TBLALC), Northern New South Wales, Australia and its members, and the traditional custodians of Fingal and the Tweed Valley, on whose land this study has taken place. The skilled field assistance of the TBLALC Wetland Conservation Team and Tom Alletson, Tweed Shire Council is appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Management, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, 2480, Australia

    Joanne Green, Amanda Reichelt-Brushett & Peter Squires

  2. Centre for Phytochemistry, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, 2480, Australia

    Don Brushett

  3. Division of Research, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, 2480, Australia

    Lyndon Brooks

  4. National Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia

    Surrey Jacobs

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  1. Joanne Green
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Correspondence to Joanne Green.

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Green, J., Reichelt-Brushett, A., Brushett, D. et al. Soil Algal Abundance in a Subtropical Saltmarsh After Surface Restoration. Wetlands 30, 87–98 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-009-0014-1

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