Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

What confines an annual plant to two separate zones along coastal topographic gradients?

  • Primary research paper
  • Published:
Hydrobiologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigated the roles of flooding, salinity, and plant competition in creating a bimodal zonation pattern of the marsh dominant annual plant, Suaeda salsa, along coastal topographic gradients on the Pacific coast of northern China. In two consecutive years, we manipulated salinity and flooding, salinity, and competition for S. salsa seedlings that had been transplanted into the mudflat, the high marsh, and the upland, respectively. S. salsa plants that had been transplanted into the mudflat were completely eliminated in the non-elevated treatments whereas they performed much better in the 10 cm elevated treatments, regardless of salinity treatments. Although the performance of S. salsa transplanted into the high marsh did not differ between the fresh (watered) and the salt (control) treatments, S. salsa seedling emergence in the high marsh was nearly completely inhibited in the salt treatments. In contrast, a large number of S. salsa seedlings did emerge in the fresh treatments. S. salsa transplanted into the upland performed well when neighbors were removed, whereas it appeared to be strongly suppressed when neighbors were present. These data indicated that flooding, salinity, and competition all played a role in determining the zonation pattern of S. salsa. Furthermore, the importance of salinity was found to vary with life-history stage. Based on the results from these field manipulative experiments, we suggest that the marsh plant zonation paradigm may hold true for plant distributions along landscape-scale topographic gradients from mudflats to uplands in general. The relative importance of flooding, salinity, and competition, however, may vary at different elevations within a site and between sites.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, D. A., 1963. Factors influencing vascular plant zonation in North Carolina salt marshes. Ecology 44: 445–456.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barry, M. J., R. Bowers & F. A. de Szalay, 2004. Effects of hydrology, herbivory and sediment disturbance on plant recruitment in a Lake Erie coastal wetland. American Midland Naturalist 151: 217–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M. D., 1991a. Interspecific interactions among high marsh perennials in a New England salt marsh. Ecology 72: 125–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M. D., 1991b. Zonation of Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora in a New England salt marsh. Ecology 72: 138–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M. D. & A. M. Ellison, 1987. Determinants of pattern in a New England salt marsh plant community. Ecological Monographs 57: 129–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M. D. & P. J. Ewanchuk, 2002. Latitudinal and climate-driven variation in the strength and nature of biological interactions in New England salt marshes. Oecologia 132: 392–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M. D. & S. C. Pennings, 2000. Spatial variation in process and pattern in salt marsh plant communities in eastern North America. In Weinstein, M. P. & D. A. Kreeger (eds), Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, New York: 39–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertness, M. D., L. Gaugh & S. W. Shumway, 1992. Salt tolerances and the distribution of plants across a New England salt marsh. Ecology 72: 1842–1851.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caçador, I., S. Tibério & H. Cabral, 2007. Species zonation in Corroios salt marsh in the Tagus estuary (Portugal) and its dynamics in the past fifty years. Hydrobiologia 587: 205–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casanova, M. T. & M. A. Brock, 2000. How do depth, duration and frequency of flooding influence the establishment of wetland plant communities? Plant Ecology 147: 237–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castillo, J. M., E. Mateos-Naranjo, F. J. Nieva & E. Figueroa, 2008. Plant zonation at salt marshes of the endangered cordgrass Spartina maritima invaded by Spartina densiflora. Hydrobiologia 614: 363–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, V. J., 1939. Studies in salt marsh ecology. IV and V. Journal of Ecology 27: 160–201.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, L. D. & N. J. Hannon, 1969. The mangrove swamp and salt marsh communities of the Sydney district. II. The holocoenotic complex with particular reference to physiography. Journal of Ecology 57: 213–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, C. S. B., J. C. Marangoni & A. G. Azevedo, 2003. Plant zonation in irregularly flooded salt marshes: relative importance of stress tolerance and biological interactions. Journal of Ecology 91: 951–965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crain, C. M., B. R. Silliman, S. L. Bertness & M. D. Bertness, 2004. Physical and biotic drivers of plant distribution across estuarine salinity gradients. Ecology 85: 2539–2549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewanchuk, P. J. & M. D. Bertness, 2004. Structure and organization of a northern New England salt marsh plant community. Journal of Ecology 92: 72–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillham, M. E., 1957a. Vegetation of the Exe Estuary in relation to water salinity. Journal of Ecology 45: 735–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillham, M. E., 1957b. Coastal vegetation of Mull and Iona in relation to salinity and soil reaction. Journal of Ecology 45: 757–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grace, J. B. & R. G. Wetzel, 1981. Habitat partitioning and competitive displacement in cattails (Typha angustifolia): experimental field studies. American Naturalist 118: 463–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grime, J. P., 1977. Evidence for the existence of three primary strategies in plants and its relevance to ecological and evolutionary theory. American Naturalist 111: 1169–1194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He, Q., B. Cui, X. Zhao & H. Fu, 2008. Niches of plant species in wetlands of the Yellow River Delta under gradients of water table depth and soil salinity. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 19: 969–975.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hellings, S. E. & J. L. Gallagher, 1992. The effects of salinity and flooding on Phragmites australis. Journal of Applied Ecology 29: 41–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houle, G., L. Morel, C. E. Reynolds & J. Siégel, 2001. The effect of salinity on different developmental stages of an endemic annual plant, Aster laurentianus (Asteraceae). American Journal of Botany 88: 62–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, H. J. & H. Fan, 2004. Change detection of tidal flats and tidal creeks in the Yellow River Delta using Landsat TM/ETM+ images. Acta Geographica Sinica 59: 723–730.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, R. G. & O. L. A. Paramor, 2004. The effects of bioturbation and herbivory by the polychaete Nereis diversicolor on loss of saltmarsh in south-east England. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 440–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • James, M. L. & J. B. Zedler, 2000. Dynamics of wetland and upland subshrubs at the salt marsh-coastal sage scrub ecotone. American Midland Naturalist 143: 298–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J. T., 1995. The mass balance of salt and water in intertidal sediments: results from North Inlet, South Carolina. Estuaries 18: 556–567.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paramor, O. L. A. & R. G. Hughes, 2004. On the loss of saltmarshes in south-east England and methods for their restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 449–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paramor, O. L. A. & R. G. Hughes, 2005. Effects of the invertebrate infauna on early saltmarsh plant colonisation of managed realignment areas in south-east England. Marine Ecology Progress Series 303: 61–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C. & M. D. Bertness, 1999. Using latitudinal variation to examine effects of climate on coastal salt marsh pattern and process. Current Topics in Wetland Biogeochemistry 3: 100–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C. & M. D. Bertness, 2001. Salt marsh communities. In Bertness, M. D., S. D. Gaines & M. Hay (eds), Marine Community Ecology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland: 289–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C. & R. M. Callaway, 1992. Salt marsh plant zonation: the relative importance of competition and physical factors. Ecology 73: 681–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C. & D. J. Moore, 2001. Zonation of shrubs in western Atlantic salt marshes. Oecologia 126: 587–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C., E. R. Selig, L. T. Houser & M. D. Bertness, 2003. Geographic variation in positive and negative interactions among salt marsh plants. Ecology 84: 1527–1538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C., M. B. Grant & M. D. Bertness, 2005. Plant zonation in low-latitude salt marshes: disentangling the roles of flooding, salinity and competition. Journal of Ecology 93: 159–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team, 2008. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shumway, S. W. & M. D. Bertness, 1992. Salt stress limitation of seedling recruitment in a salt marsh plant community. Oecologia 92: 490–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silvestri, S., A. Defina & M. Marani, 2005. Tidal regime, salinity and salt marsh plant zonation. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 62: 119–130.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, A. A. & S. W. Vince, 1984. Plant zonation in an Alaskan salt marsh. II. An experimental study of the role of edaphic conditions. Journal of Ecology 72: 669–684.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song, J., H. Fan, Y. Zhao, Y. Jia, X. Du & B. Wang, 2008. Effect of salinity on germination, seedling emergence, seedling growth and ion accumulation of a euhalophyte Suaeda salsa in an intertidal zone and on saline inland. Aquatic Botany 88: 331–337.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y. F., Y. Duan, S. Y. Wu & Z. D. Wang, 2006. Coastal evolution in the north of the Yellow River Delta. Marine Geology Letters 22: 7–11.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Traut, B. H., 2005. The role of coastal ecotones: a case study of the salt marsh/upland transition zone in California. Journal of Ecology 93: 279–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungar, I. A., 1996. Effect of salinity on seed germination, growth, and ion accumulation of Atriplex patula (Chenopodiaceae). American Journal of Botany 83: 604–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vince, S. W. & A. A. Snow, 1984. Plant zonation in an Alaskan salt marsh. I. Distribution, abundance and environmental factors. Journal of Ecology 72: 651–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, H., Y. P. Hsiehb, M. A. Harwell & W. Huang, 2007. Modeling soil salinity distribution along topographic gradients in tidal salt marshes in Atlantic and Gulf coastal regions. Ecological Modelling 201: 429–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb, E. C., I. A. Mendelssohn & B. J. Wilsey, 1995. Causes for vegetation dieback in a Louisiana salt marsh: a bioassay approach. Aquatic Botany 51: 281–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S. D. & P. A. Keddy, 1986. Species competitive ability and position along a natural stress/disturbance gradient. Ecology 67: 1236–1242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolters, M., J. P. Bakker, M. D. Bertness, R. L. Jefferies & I. Möller, 2005. Saltmarsh erosion and restoration in south-east England: squeezing the evidence requires realignment. Journal of Applied Ecology 42: 844–851.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedler, J. B., J. C. Callaway, J. S. Desmond, G. Vivian-Smith, G. D. Williams, G. Sullivan, A. E. Brewster & B. K. Bradshaw, 1999. Californian salt-marsh vegetation: an improved model of spatial pattern. Ecosystems 2: 19–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, K., H. Fan, S. Zhou & J. Song, 2003. Study on the salt and drought tolerance of Suaeda salsa and Kalanchoe claigremontiana under iso-osmotic salt and water stress. Plant Science 165: 837–844.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank to people involved in this group study. We are indebted to Hualing Fu, Qiaomu Hu, Wei Li, and Shuqian Yang & Xiaolin Liao for invaluable field and/or laboratory assistance. We also thank the people in the field stations and the Management Bureau of the Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve for their cordial help with field work. We thank Pierluigi Viaroli and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments that greatly improved the manuscript. This study was funded by National Key Basic Research Program of China (2006CB403303) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (40571149 and U0833002).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Qiang He, Baoshan Cui, Yanzi Cai, Jiafeng Deng, Tao Sun & Zhifeng Yang

Authors
  1. Qiang He
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Baoshan Cui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yanzi Cai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jiafeng Deng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tao Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zhifeng Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Baoshan Cui.

Additional information

Handling editor: Pierluigi Viaroli

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

He, Q., Cui, B., Cai, Y. et al. What confines an annual plant to two separate zones along coastal topographic gradients?. Hydrobiologia 630, 327–340 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9825-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9825-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation