Abstract
A fertilization study was conducted to test the hypothesis that substrate moisture content affects nitrogen uptake by plants in brackish wetlands that have been ditched for mosquito control. Spartina patens (Ait.)Muhl. and Distichlis spicata (L.)Greene were the test species. Nitrate fertilizer was applied to plots in an unditched (Control) area and in two areas that had been extensively ditched. Tissue nitrogen concentrations increased significantly in fertilized plots and they were significantly higher in the area where the substrate moisture content had decreased following management. Distichlis had a greater relative response to fertilization but the response did not differ between sites. Spartina the more shallow rooted species, had the greatest relative response to fertilization in the driest area. The results demonstrate that minimum changes in plant tissue nitrogen concentrations can be achieved in ditched wetlands by maintaining water tables as near to the wetland surface as possible.
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© 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Whigham, D.F., Nusser, S.M. (1990). The Response of Distichlis Spicata (L.) Greene and Spartina Patens (Ait.) Muhl. to Nitrogen Fertilization in Hydrologically Altered Wetlands. In: Whigham, D.F., Good, R.E., Kvet, J. (eds) Wetland Ecology and Management: Case Studies. Tasks for vegetation science, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2115-3_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2115-3_4
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