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Impacts of Saltwater Incursion on Plant Communities, Anaerobic Microbial Metabolism, and Resulting Relationships in a Restored Freshwater Wetland

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Abstract

Saltwater incursion carries high concentrations of sea salts, including sulfate, which can alter anaerobic microbial processes and plant community composition of coastal freshwater marshes. We studied these phenomena in a recently restored wetland on the coastal plain of North Carolina. We measured water inundation patterns, porewater chemistry, microbial process rates, plant tissue chemistry and iron plaque on plant roots, and quantified plant community composition across a hydrologic and salinity gradient to understand the potential interactions between saltwater incursion and changes in microbial processes and plant communities. Plant communities showed no obvious response to incursion, but were structured by inundation patterns and plant growth form (for example, graminoid versus forb). Saltwater incursion increased chloride and sulfate concentrations in surface and porewater, and drove resulting spatial patterns in anaerobic microbial metabolism rates. Plots experiencing saltwater incursion had higher sulfate reduction rates and were dominated by graminoid plant species (for example, sedges, rushes, and grasses). Graminoid plant species’ roots had greater iron plaque formation than forb and submerged species, indicative that graminoid plant species are supplying more oxygen to the rhizosphere, potentially influencing microbial metabolism. Future studies should focus on how plant and microbial communities may respond to saltwater incursion at different time scales, and on parsing out the influence that plants and microbes have on each other as freshwater wetlands experience sea level rise.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Anna Fedders, Medora Burke-Scoll, and Sarah Harvey for field and lab assistance, and Brooke Hassett for lab assistance. Marcelo Ardón provided long-term water level and conductivity datasets, and thoughtful review. Thanks to Emily Bernhardt for providing an insightful review of the paper. Funding for KNH provided by NSF DEB 1021039. Funding for all others provided by NSF DEB 1216916.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University, 1 Nunn Drive, Highland Heights, Kentucky, 41099, USA

    Kristine N. Hopfensperger

  2. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 3310 Holdrege Ave., Lincoln, Nebraska, 68583, USA

    Amy J. Burgin & Valerie A. Schoepfer

  3. Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 27708, USA

    Ashley M. Helton

  4. Department of Natural Resources and the Environment & The Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06269, USA

    Ashley M. Helton

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  1. Kristine N. Hopfensperger
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  2. Amy J. Burgin
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  3. Valerie A. Schoepfer
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  4. Ashley M. Helton
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Correspondence to Kristine N. Hopfensperger.

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Author Contributions

KNH and AJB conceived and designed the overall study. AJB and VAS performed anaerobic microbial metabolism work. AMH performed site chemistry and inundation work. KNH performed plant chemistry and community work and statistical analyses. KNH wrote the paper with substantial input and edits from AJB, AMH, and VAS.

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Hopfensperger, K.N., Burgin, A.J., Schoepfer, V.A. et al. Impacts of Saltwater Incursion on Plant Communities, Anaerobic Microbial Metabolism, and Resulting Relationships in a Restored Freshwater Wetland. Ecosystems 17, 792–807 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9760-x

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