Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2007 Ecosystem effects of expanding populations of Avicennia germinans in a southeastern Louisiana Spartina alterniflora saltmarsh Carey Lynn Perry Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons Recommended Citation Perry, Carey Lynn, "Ecosystem effects of expanding populations of Avicennia germinans in a southeastern Louisiana Spartina alterniflora saltmarsh" (2007). LSU Master's Theses. 3599. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/3599 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ECOSYSTEM EFFECTS OF EXPANDING POPULATIONS OF AVICENNIA GERMINANS IN A SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SPARTINA ALTERNIFLORA SALTMARSH A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences by Carey Lynn Perry B.S., Eckerd College, 2005 December 2007 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Aaron Adamack, Joe Baustian, Jane Buck, Justin Bunte, Luke DiFulco, Sean Graham, Shuwen Li, Brian Milan, and Camille Stagg for their field assistance, Daniel Bond, Michael Breithaupt, Rodney Henderson, and Dr. Manoch Kongchum for soil and porewater analyses, Dr. Robert Gambrell and Dr. Gene Turner for lending me sampling equipment, Dr. Jaye Cable and Chris Smith for assistance with cesium dating, and Dr. James Geaghan and Dr. Matthew Slocum for their statistical guidance. I would especially like to thank my committee members, Dr. Robert Gambrell and Dr. Karen McKee, for their attention to detail, sharing their expertise with me, and contributing to this research. I owe many thanks to my major Professor, Dr. Irving Mendelssohn, for his guidance, patience, and willingness to help with every aspect of this research. Lastly, I thank my family and friends for supporting me when I decided to move from the sandy beaches of south Florida to work in the muddy wetlands of south Louisiana, convincing me that I could survive my time here in Louisiana, and listening to all I had to say about my research and Louisiana even though they only rarely knew what I was actually talking about. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………...ii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………………..iv LIST OF FIURES…………………………………………………………………………………v ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...vi INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...1 MATERIALS AND METHODS………………………………………………………………….5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………....14 ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF AVICENNIA EXPANSION……………………………..30 CONCLUSIONS………………………………………………………………………………...36 LITERATURE CITED…………………………………………………………………………..38 VITA……………………………………………………………………………………………..51 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Photosynthetic rates for each species. Data are means ± 1 SE in parentheses (n = 10). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05)…………………………………………………………….23 Table 2. Soil texture and physical variables. Data are means ± 1 SE in parentheses (n = 10). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05) ………………………………………………………………………25 Table 3. Extractable soil elemental concentrations. Soil NH4 was the only nutrient that differed between habitats but not sampling periods. All other nutrient concentrations are shown with habitats pooled. A significant interaction between habitat and sampling date existed for Fe. Data are means ± 1 SE in parentheses (n = 30 for NH4; n = 20 for Ca, Mg, P, K, Na; n =10 for Fe). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05) …………………………………...28 Table 4. Porewater elemental concentrations. Porewater Al, B, Mn, and NH4 differed between sampling periods only and are shown with habitats pooled. A significant interaction between habitat and sampling period existed for Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, P, and Na. Data are means ± 1 SE in parentheses (n = 20 for Al, B, Mn, NH4; n = 10 for Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, P, Na). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05)……………………………………………………………..29 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Expansion of Avicennia (black mangrove) into a mixed Spartina salt marsh following several years of mild winters in southeastern Louisiana. Arrows identify landmark common to both photographs (photos courtesy of B. Milan)……………………………………………………………………………..................3 Figure 2. Sampling stations were located in a saltmarsh adjacent to Bayou Lafourche near Leeville in southeastern Louisiana, USA. Diamonds on the map denote the 10 sampling stations.……………………………………………………………………………………………6 Figure 4. Short-term sediment accretion on mini-compact discs during each sampling period. Data are means ± 1 SE (n = 20) of Avicennia and Spartina habitats combined. Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05).………………………………………………………………………………………..15 Figure 5. 137Cs profiles from one Avicennia and one Spartina core. 137Cs activity peaks at a depth of 23 cm in the Avicennia core and at 25 cm in the Spartina core…………………....18 Figure 6. Cotton tensile strength loss for each sampling period in Avicennia and Spartina habitats. Data are means ± 1 SE (n = 10). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05)…………………………………....19 Figure 7. Percentage of Avicennia and Spartina roots remaining in litter bag after 195 and 384 days. Data are means ± 1 SE (n = 10)………………………………………………….20 Figure 8. Total belowground production after each sampling period. Data are means ± 1 SE (n = 20) of Avicennia and Spartina habitats combined. Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05)…………….21 Figure 9. Soil Eh for each sampling period in Avicennia and Spartina habitats. Data are means ± 1 SE (n = 10). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05)……………………………………………..26 Figure 10. Porewater pH in Avicennia and Spartina habitats for each sampling period. Data are means ± 1 SE (n = 10). Shared letters indicate no statistical differences between means (Tukey Multiple Comparison test, P < 0.05)……………………………………………..27 v ABSTRACT Although the Earth may be in the early stages of the projected trends of global warming, several ecological responses to recent warming are already evident. The timing of seasonal activities of plants and animals has begun to shift, and the advancement of species poleward is occurring in several regions of the world. One unique distributional shift is the movement of Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) northward into temperate salt marshes dominated by the marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora. In Louisiana, black mangroves were historically restricted to the southernmost barrier islands and beaches; however, in recent years a noticeable expansion of Avicennia northward into Spartina marshes has been observed. To date, no research documents the effects mangroves may have on ecosystem processes within salt marshes. The goal of this research was lessen this gap in scientific knowledge by examining the effects of expanding populations of Avicennia on the ecosystem processes of accretion, organic matter production and decomposition, and carbon assimilation. Study results indicate that, to date, Avicennia expansion has had no major effects on essential ecosystem processes within the salt marsh. No differences were detected in accretion rates, using sediment trap, feldspar, or 137Cs techniques, decomposition rates, belowground production, or carbon assimilation rates between Avicennia and Spartina areas. However, edaphic parameters such as elevation, redox potentials, bulk density, and soil ammonium were slightly higher, while soil moisture and porewater salinity were somewhat lower where Avicennia expanded into the surrounding Spartina salt marsh. Also, differences were detected in the relative rates at which mangrove and salt marsh tissues decomposed. Decomposition of Avicennia leaves (0.63-1.0% loss d-1) and roots (0.055-0.30% loss d-1) was quicker than that of Spartina leaves (0.52-0.83 % loss d-1) and roots vi (0.074-0.25% loss d-1). Moreover, root biomass belowground degraded quite slowly, with 50- 60% of roots remaining after 384 days. In contrast to quick leaf degradation and the export of leaf litter, slow root degradation and retention within the soil suggest that roots have more potential to contribute organic matter to this Louisiana salt marsh, particularly Spartina roots which degraded even more slowly than Avicennia roots. vii INTRODUCTION Global climate change models have predicted increases in air temperature of 1.4-5.8 ºC by 2100, and the Earth’s temperature has already warmed by approximately 0.6 ºC over the past 100 years (USGCRP 2002; IPCC 2007). Although the Earth may be in the early stages of the projected trends of global warming, several ecological