Whether disturbances alter salt marsh soil structure dramatically affects Spartina alterniflora recolonization rate

Responses of soil nitrogen fixation to Spartina alterniflora invasion and nitrogen addition in a Chinese salt marsh.

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is the major natural process of nitrogen (N) input to ecosystems. To understand how plant invasion and N enrichment affect BNF, we compared soil N-fixation rates and N-fixing microbes (NFM) of an invasive Spartina alterniflora community and a native Phragmites australis community in the Yangtze River estuary, with and without N addition. Our results indicated ...

Factors Influencing Stem Density of Creekbank Spartina alterniflora in a New England Salt Marsh

Stem density patterns for smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, are highly variable both among years and within the growing season. These variations can have consequences for the overall primary productivity of the salt marsh system, as well as its ability to provide essential ecosystem functions. In this study, I explored factors that could be driving observed variations in four tidal creek...

A specialist detritivore links Spartina alterniflora to salt marsh food webs

Because most plant production is subject to senescence and is eventually consumed by detritivores, the factors that drive detritivore diet choice are pivotal to the flow of energy and materials through food webs. Here, we investigated the common salt marsh amphipod Gammarus palustris, which is a habitat specialist that feeds specifically on the dead leaves of its living host plant, salt marsh c...

Ribbed Mussels and Spartina Alterniflora Production in a New England Salt Marsh

The ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa, is commonly found associated with the salt marsh cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora. Mussels attach to the basal portion of S. alterniflora stems with strong proteinaceous byssal threads and deposit fecal material on the surrounding sediment as a byproduct of their filter-feeding activity. Here I demonstrate by manipulating mussel densities in the field that ...

DECOMPOSITION AND NUTRIENT DYNAMICS IN A Spartina alterniflora MARSH OF THE BAHIA BLANCA ESTUARY, ARGENTINA