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Ten‐year seed bank and vegetation dynamics of a tidal freshwater marsh
Author(s) -
Leck Mary Allessio,
Simpson Robert L.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1995.tb13857.x
Subject(s) - seedling , biology , germination , marsh , vegetation (pathology) , impatiens , perennial plant , old field , cuscuta , propagule , ecology , botany , wetland , medicine , pathology , cultivar
A decade‐long examination was made of recruitment and establishment in a tidal freshwater high marsh along the Delaware River. Over the 10 yr of the study, seed bank, field seedlings, and vegetation showed variable patterns and significant year‐to‐year fluctuations. Patterns of each species were unique, perhaps the result of specific germination and/or establishment requirements and seedling morphology. For a given species there was little correlation among seed bank, seedling, and vegetation patterns, and germination success did not guarantee establishment. Species diversity showed significant year‐to‐year fluctuation, but there was no trend, and perennials did not change in importance during the 10‐yr period. Because four annual species ( Bidens laevis, Cuscuta gronovii, Impatiens capensis, and Polygonum arifolium) composed over 90% of the seed bank and field seedlings, and 58‐89% ( = 70 ± 4) of the cover, community dynamics were dependent on seedling recruitment. For a given species life history stages (seed bank, field seedlings, and vegetation) were not predictable over the temporal scale of a decade. It is predicted, however, that if hydrology remains unchanged, the same suite of species will persist. The importance of the parasite Cuscuta gronovii is noteworthy.