Thesis
Drainage impacts on the productivity of wetland species Spartina alterniflora and Salicornia pacifica
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00001723
Abstract
Coastal wetlands display ecohydrological zonation such that vertical differences in groundwater levels over tidal cycles are large in the tall form Spartina alterniflora zone, intermediate in the short form Spartina alterniflora zone, and modest in the upper marsh zone. It is unclear how this variable level of tidal drainage directly impacts biotic and abiotic factors in coastal wetland ecosystems, which included above and belowground biomass, porewater pH, salinity, ammonium concentration, sulfide concentration, soil redox potential, NEE, photosynthesis rate, respiration rate, and methane flux. To determine the impacts of drainage levels, simulated tides in mesocosms with varying degrees of drainage were created with Spartina alterniflora, the salt marsh coastal ecosystem dominant species on the United States Atlantic Coast, and Salicornia pacifica, the Pacific Coast dominant. We measured biomass production and photosynthesis as measures of plant health, and we supplemented these measures with those of soil and porewater characteristics to help interpret patterns of productivity. As based on the four degrees of drainage, we found the greatest plant production in soils with intermediate drainage levels, with production values that were 13.7% higher for S. alterniflora and 57.7% higher for S. pacifica in the intermediate levels than the outer two levels. Understanding how drainage impacts plant species is important for predicting wetland resilience to sea level rise, as increasing water levels alter ecohydrologic zonation.
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Details
- Title
- Drainage impacts on the productivity of wetland species Spartina alterniflora and Salicornia pacifica
- Creators
- Kylie Margaret Cherneskie
- Contributors
- Elizabeth B. Watson (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- ix, 47 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021119113804721