Anthropogenic modification of New England salt marsh landscapes
Anthropogenic modification of New England salt marsh landscapes
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.022447299
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发表时间：
2002-02-05
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Silliman, BR
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bertness, MD;Ewanchuk, PJ;Silliman, BR
盐沼在西大西洋受海浪保护的海岸线的生态和地质学中起着关键作用，但曾经在新英格兰出现的多达80%的沼泽已经因人类发展而消失。在这里，我们提出的数据表明，剩余的盐沼在南部新英格兰正在迅速退化的海岸线的发展和富营养化。在这些沼泽的向海边界，当地海岸线开发刺激的氮富营养化正在通过释放植物的营养竞争来改变沼泽植物之间的竞争平衡。这种转变导致天然的高沼泽植物被低沼泽的绳草所取代。在这些沼泽的陆地边界，海岸线的发展也加速了普通芦苇的入侵，芦苇通过陆地和盐沼群落之间的木本植被缓冲区的消失造成的氮富营养化。由于这些人类的影响，传统的盐沼植物群落和依赖这些生境的动植物正被杂草物种的单一种植所取代。
Salt marshes play a critical role in the ecology and geology of wave-protected shorelines in the Western Atlantic, but as many as 80% of the marshes that once occurred in New England have already been lost to human development. Here we present data that suggest that the remaining salt marshes in southern New England are being rapidly degraded by shoreline development and eutrophication. On the seaward border of these marshes, nitrogen eutrophication stimulated by local shoreline development is shifting the competitive balance among marsh plants by releasing plants from nutrient competition. This shift is leading to the displacement of natural high marsh plants by low marsh cordgrass. On the terrestrial border of these same marshes, shoreline development is also precipitating the invasion of the common reed, Phragmites, by means of nitrogen eutrophication caused by the removal of the woody vegetation buffer between terrestrial and salt marsh communities. As a consequence of these human impacts, traditional salt marsh plant communities and the plants and animals that are dependent on these habitats are being displaced by monocultures of weedy species.