Skip to main content
Log in

An investigation of salt marsh dieback in Georgia using field transplants

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In 2001 and 2002, Georgia salt marshes experienced a dieback event that, affected more than 800 ha throughout the coastal zone. The dieback event was unprecedented in the state and affected bothSpartina alterniflora andJuncus roemerianus. A transplant study was conducted from May to October 2003 to determine if healthy plants could survive in dieback areas. Transplants were carried out at two locations on the Georgia coast in areas ofS. alterniflora dieback along the banks of tidal creeks, an area ofS. alterniflora dieback in the mid marsh, and aJ. roemerianus dieback, area in the mid marsh. Transplant survival was nearly 100% and growth (measured as increases in the height of the 5 tallest stems and the number of stems per experimental pot) was observed in both healthy (control) and dieback areas.J. roemerianus grew more slowly thanS. alterniflora, with no, observed increase in stem height and an average 38% increase in stem density as compared to an average 57% increase in stem height and 137% increase in stem density inS. alterniflora. Differences in growth were inconsistent but in most cases no significant differences were observed between healthy and dieback areas. Soil characteristics measured over the course of the experiment were generally comparable between healthy and dieback areas (redox potential averaged 69±123 [SD] across all observations at all sites, pH averaged 6.7 ± 0.3 and salinity averaged 24.9±4.4), but porewater ammonium (NH4) concentration was often higher in dieback areas (overall mean NH4 concentration, was 138±127 μM in dieback areas versus 33±40 μM in healthy areas). These results suggest that the cause of dieback was no, longer present at the time of this study and that transplants are a possibility for restoring affected areas.

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

Access this article

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

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Basan, P. B. andR. W. Frey. 1977. Actual palaeontology and neoichnology of saltmarshes near Sapelo Island, GA.Geological Journal 9:41–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, P. R., L. A. Yarbro, F. X. Courtney, H. Arnold, D. Leslie, J. Hughes, and N. Craft. 2001. Panhandle salt marsh mortality: A prelude to Louisiana brown marsh? Coastal Marsh Dieback Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

  • de Souza, M. P. andD. C. Yoch. 1997.Spartina alterniflora dicback recovery correlates with increased acetylene reduction activity in saltmarsh sediments.Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 45:547–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. M. andR. W. Frey. 1977. Substrate characteristics within a Holocene salt marsh, Sapelo Island, Georgia.Senckenbergiana Maritime 9:547–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, J. L. 1975. Effect, of an ammonium nitrate pulse on the growth and elemental composition of natural stands ofSpartina alterniflora andJuncus roemerianus.American Journal of Botany 62:644–648.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, P. J., E. M. Braybrooks, andJ. M. Lambert. 1959. Investigations into ‘die-back’ inSpartina townsendii Agg.: The present status ofSpartina townsendii in Britain.Journal of Ecology 47:651–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, P. J. andW. T. Williams. 1961. Investigations into ‘dieback’ inSpartina townsendii Agg.: III. Physiological correlates of ‘die-back’.Journal of Ecology 49:391–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartman, J. M. 1988. Recolonization of small disturbance patches in a New England salt marsh.American Journal of Botany 75:1625–1631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hester, M. W., I. A. Mendelssohn, andK. L. McKee. 1996. Intraspecific variation in salt tolerance and morphology in the coastal grassSpartina patens (Poaceae).American Journal of Botany 83:1521–1527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hester, M. W., I. A. Mendelssohn, andK. L. McKee. 2001. Species and population variation to salinity stress inPanicum hemitomon, Spartina patens, andSpartina alterniflora: Morphological and physiological constrains.Environmental and Experimental Botany 46:277–297.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koroleff F. 1983. Determination of ammonia, p. 150–157.In K. Grasshoff, M. Ehrhardt, and K. Kremling (eds.), Methods of Seawater Analysis: Second, Revised and Extended Edition. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linthurst, R. A. andE. D. Seneca. 1980. Dieback of saltwater cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel.) in the lower Cape Fear estuary of North Carolina: An experimental approach to reestablishment.Environmental Conservation 7:59–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKee, K. L., I. A. Mendelssohn, andM. D. Materne. 2004. Acute salt marsh dieback in the Mississippi River deltaic plain: A drought-induced phenomenon?Global Ecology and Biogeography 13:65–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelssohn, I. A. andK. L. McKee. 1988.Spartina alterniflora die-back in Louisiana: Time course investigation of soil waterlogging effects.Journal of Ecology 76:509–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogburn, M. B. 2004. Salt Marsh Dieback in Georgia: Field Survey and Transplant Experiments. M.S. Thesis, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C. andR. M. Callaway. 2000. The advantages, of clonal integration under different ecological conditions: A community-wide test.Ecology 81:709–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pennings, S. C., M.-B. Grant, andM. 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 

  • Smith, W. G. 1970.Spartina “die-back” in Louisiana marshlands.Coastal Studies Bulletin 5:89–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turrer, R. E. 1990. Landscape development and coastal wetland losses in the northern Gulf of Mexico.American Zoologist 30:89–105.

    Google Scholar 

Sources of Unpublished Materials

  • Christian, R. personal communication. Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27858

  • Franklin, C. personal communication. College of Sciences and Technology, Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia 31404

  • Mendelssohn, I. personal communication. Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803

  • Pennings, S. unpublished data. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 72204-5001.

  • Rozsa, R. unpublished data. http://www.marsci.uga.edu/ coastalcouncil/capecod_dieback.htm

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Merryl Alber.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ogburn, M.B., Alber, M. An investigation of salt marsh dieback in Georgia using field transplants. Estuaries and Coasts: J ERF 29, 54–62 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02784698

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02784698

Keywords

Navigation