Macrophyte colonization in a freshwater tidal wetland (Lyme, CT, USA)
In: Aquatic Botany. Elsevier Science: Tokyo; Oxford; New York; London; Amsterdam. ISSN 0304-3770; e-ISSN 1879-1522, more
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| Keywords |
Anatomical structures > Body organs > Plant organs > Plant reproductive structures
Colonization
Composition > Community composition
Flora > Aquatic organisms > Aquatic plants
Water bodies > Inland waters > Wetlands
USA, Connecticut R.
Fresh water |
| Author keywords |
community structure; seed bank; vegetative propagules; tidal wetland |
| Abstract |
Seed bank sampling and creation of plots cleared of standing vegetation showed that aboveground vegetative propagules were more important than seeds in colonization of a freshwater tidal wetland but that the relative importance of sexual reproduction varied among species. Nine submerged species established in colonization plots. Of these colonization events, 60% were achieved by plant fragments, either in the sediment or floating in the water, and 16% resulted from vegetative growth. Only 4 of 16 submerged species in the community were represented in the seed bank. The collection of vegetative propagules in nets demonstrated that drifting propagules were very abundant and that the relative abundance of species in the propagule stream corresponded most closely with the standing community. |
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