10.5061/DRYAD.NP6B8
Carus, Jana
University of Potsdam
Paul, Maike
Technische Universität Braunschweig
Schröder, Boris
Berlin Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research
Data from: Vegetation as self-adaptive coastal protection: reduction of
current velocity and morphologic plasticity of a brackish marsh pioneer
Dryad
dataset
2017
Morphological adaptation
Bolboschoenus maritimus
brackish marsh
pioneer zone
Adaptive value
mechanical pressure
2017-01-06T00:00:00Z
2017-01-06T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1904
3084248 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
By reducing current velocity, tidal marsh vegetation can diminish storm
surges and storm waves. Conversely, currents often exert high mechanical
stresses onto the plants and hence affect vegetation structure and plant
characteristics. In our study, we aim at analysing this interaction from
both angles. On the one hand, we quantify the reduction of current
velocity by Bolboschoenus maritimus, and on the other hand, we identify
functional traits of B. maritimus’ ramets along environmental gradients.
Our results show that tidal marsh vegetation is able to buffer a large
proportion of the flow velocity at currents under normal conditions.
Cross-shore current velocity decreased with distance from the marsh edge
and was reduced by more than 50% after 15 m of vegetation. We were
furthermore able to show that plants growing at the marsh edge had a
significantly larger diameter than plants from inside the vegetation. We
found a positive correlation between plant thickness and cross-shore
current which could provide an adaptive value in habitats with high
mechanical stress. With the adapted morphology of plants growing at the
highly exposed marsh edge, the entire vegetation belt is able to better
resist the mechanical stress of high current velocities. This
self-adaptive effect thus increases the ability of B. maritimus to grow
and persist in the pioneer zone and may hence better contribute to
ecosystem-based coastal protection by reducing current velocity.
Data Carus et alData files contain data from velocity measurements in the
pioneer zone of the Elbe estuary and measured plant traits of
Bolboschoenus maritimus.
Elbe estuary
Germany