Journal article
Forest composition and growth in a freshwater forested wetland community across a salinity gradient in South Carolina, USA
Forest ecology and management, Vol.389, pp.211-219
04/01/2017
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101296
Abstract
•Salinity significantly affects tidal forested wetland community structure.•Productivity of a tidal freshwater forest decreases with increasing salinity.•Baldcypress dominate overstory of tidal freshwater forests with increased salinity.•Increased salinity changes forest successional pattern in a tidal forested wetland.
Tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) of the southeastern United States are experiencing increased saltwater intrusion mainly due to sea-level rise. Inter-annual and intra-annual variability in forest productivity along a salinity gradient was studied on established sites. Aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of trees was monitored from 2013 to 2015 on three sites within a baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamp forest ecosystem in Strawberry Swamp on Hobcaw Barony, Georgetown County, South Carolina. Paired plots (20×25-m) were established along a water salinity gradient (0.8, 2.6, 4.6PSU). Salinity was continuously monitored, litterfall was measured monthly, and growth of overstory trees ⩾10cm diameter at breast height (DBH) was monitored on an annual basis. Annual litterfall and stem wood growth were summed to estimate ANPP. The DBH of live and dead individuals of understory shrubs were measured to calculate density, basal area (BA), and important values (IV). Freshwater forest communities clearly differed in composition, structure, tree size, BA, and productivity across the salinity gradient. The higher salinity plots had decreased numbers of tree species, density, and BA. Higher salinity reduced average ANPP. The dominant tree species and their relative densities did not change along the salinity gradient, but the dominance of the primary tree species differed with increasing salinity. Baldcypress was the predominant tree species with highest density, DBH, BA, IV, and contribution to total ANPP on all sites. Mean growth rate of baldcypress trees decreased with increasing salinity, but exhibited the greatest growth among all tree species. While the overall number of shrub species decreased with increasing salinity, wax myrtle (Morella cerifera) density, DBH, BA, and IV increased with salinity. With rising sea level and increasing salinity levels, low regeneration of baldcypress, and the invasion of wax myrtle, typical successional patterns in TFFW and forest health are likely to change in the future.
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Details
- Title
- Forest composition and growth in a freshwater forested wetland community across a salinity gradient in South Carolina, USA
- Creators
- Xijun Liu - Key Lab of Silviculture, School of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, ChinaWilliam H Conner - Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson University, Georgetown, SC 29442, United StatesBo Song - Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson University, Georgetown, SC 29442, United StatesAnand D Jayakaran - College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, Washington State University, Puyallup, WA 98371, United States
- Publication Details
- Forest ecology and management, Vol.389, pp.211-219
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Identifiers
- 99900546645701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article