Plant Cover,Herbivory, and Resiliency in a Cape Cod Salt Marsh: Multi-year Responses and Recovery Following Manipulation of Nutrients and Competition |
| |
| Authors: | Carol S Rietsma Rita Oliveira Monteiro Ivan Valiela |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, State University of New York, New Paltz, NY 12561, USA;(2) College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA;(3) The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA; |
| |
| Abstract: | To assess responses and recovery of salt marsh grass species, we manipulated external nutrient supply and removed shoots of
Spartina alterniflora or Spartina patens from fertilized and control plots in a Massachusetts marsh. The pulse-and-recovery experiment included treatments for 5 years,
and recovery for an additional 7 years. Responses of these potential competitors sensitively depended on local contingencies
of elevation and nutrient dose, and, moreover, the differences in outcomes were emphasized at longer time scales. Local contingencies
became manifest as differences in responsiveness and resiliency of the different grass species, with differing time courses
and longer-term outcomes as to what species were present. These features might explain the diverse results obtained in shorter-term
salt marsh experiments, and provide a view of the complex suite of species-specific and external environmental variables that
may control competitive interactions in general. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
