Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: a case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneer Spartina anglica

Balke, Thorsten; Klaassen, Paul C.; Garbutt, Angus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9145-9786; van der Wal, Daphne; Herman, Peter M.J.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.. 2012 Conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering: a case study on tussocks of the salt marsh pioneer Spartina anglica. Geomorphology, 153-154. 232-238. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.03.002

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.03.002

Abstract/Summary

The salt marsh grass Spartina anglica is an important habitat-modifying ecosystem engineering agent that facilitates large-scale salt marsh formation by enhancing sediment accretion. It dominates many European tidal environments and is invasive in many other parts of the world. We question (1) to what extent the ecosystem engineering ability of patchy Spartina vegetation depends on large-scale abiotic processes, and (2) whether tussock shape provides an indicator for future lateral salt marsh development. Analysing the topography of 83 individual tussocks in contrasting environments revealed that there are 6 clearly distinguishable tussock shapes, and that the classical example of a sediment-accumulating dome-shaped tussock only occurs under a limited set of abiotic conditions. The outcome of habitat modification by S. anglica is shown to be conditional, depending on large-scale morphodynamics and sediment grain size. Resulting tussock shape provides a clear indication for the long-term development of the pioneer zone. Understanding of the conditional outcome of ecosystem engineering is highly relevant in this era of climate change and ongoing anthropogenic influences on coastal ecosystems.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.03.002
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Emmett
ISSN:	0169-555X
Additional Keywords:	cordgrass, tidal flat, context dependency, biogeomorphology, salt marsh, pioneer zone
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment Botany
Date made live:	17 Jan 2013 12:46 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/20933

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.03.002

Programmes:

CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Emmett

ISSN:

0169-555X

Additional Keywords:

cordgrass, tidal flat, context dependency, biogeomorphology, salt marsh, pioneer zone