Abstract
An analysis was made of vegetation phenomena associated with cyclic river delta building and abandonment in the Mississippi River deltaic plain, Louisiana. Markov models of vegetation succession were completed for the new Atchafalaya delta and for the abandoned Lafourche delta. Transition matrices representing different flood conditions in the Atchafalaya delta (1979–1984) were used separately and in combinations based on long term river discharge data. Effect of grazing was introduced into the model as a special transition matrix. Succession during active delta building is heavily dependent on a particular sequence of flood conditions and, apparently, on the intensity of grazing. Natural vegetation changes and land losses in the abandoned Lafourche delta were simulated using a transition matrix based on air photographs from 1945 and 1956. A general flow diagram of long cyclic vegetation changes in the Mississippi deltaic plain was completed.
Nomenclature follows D. T. MacRoberts, 1984. The vascular plants of Louisiana. Bull. Mus. Life Sci., Louisiana State University in Shreveport 6: 1–165.
Part of this work was supported by the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program maintained by NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Austin, M. P., 1980. An exploratory analysis of grassland dynamics: an example of lawn succession. Vegetatio 43: 87–94.
Baumann, R. H., Day, J. W. & Miller, C. A., 1984. Mississippi deltaic wetland survival: sedimentation versus coastal submergence. Science 224: 1093–1095.
Bird, E. C., 1985. Coastline changes: A global review. Wiley, New York.
Charbreck, R. H., Pilcher, B. K. & Ensminger, A. B. (in press). Growth, production, and wildlife use of delta duck potatoes in Louisiana. Proc. S. E. Assoc. Game Fish Comm.
Deegan, L. A., Kennedy, H. M. & Neil, C., 1984. Natural factors and human modifications contributing to marsh loss in Louisiana’s Mississippi River deltaic plain. Environ. Manage. 8: 519–528.
Dozier, M. D., Gosselink, J. G., Sesser, C. E. & Hill, J. M., 1983. Wetland change in southeastern Barataria Basin, Louisiana, 1945–1980. Center for Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. 102 pp.
Drury, W. H., 1956. Bog flats and physiographic processes in Upper Kuskowim River Region, Alaska. Contrib. Gray Herb. 178: 1–130.
Frazier, D. E., 1967. Recent deltaic deposits of the Mississippi River: their development and chronology. Gulf Coast Assoc. Geol. Trans. 17: 287–311.
Fuller, D. A., Sasser, C. E., Johnson, W. B. & Gosselink, J. G., 1985. The effects of herbivory on vegetation on islands in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana. Wetlands 4: 105–113.
Gagliano, S. M., Meyer-Arendt, K. J. & Wicker, K. M., 1981. Land loss in the Mississippi River deltaic plain. Trans. Gulf Coast Ass. Geol. Soc. 31: 295–300.
Gosselink, J. G., 1984. The ecology of delta marshes of coastal Louisiana: A community profile. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior, 134 pp.
Hobbs, R. J., 1983. Markov models in the study of post-fire succession in heathland communities. Vegetatio 56: 17–30.
Johnson, W. B., Sasser, C. E. & Gosselink, J. G., 1985. Succession of vegetation in an evolving river delta, Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana. J. Ecol. 73: 973–986.
Kemeny, J. G. & Snell, J. L., 1976. Finite Markov chains. Springer, New York.
Kolb, C. R. & Van Lopik, J. R., 1966. Depositional environments of the Mississippi River deltaic plain — southeastern Louisiana. In: M. L. Shirley (ed.), Deltas, pp. 17–61. Houston Geological Society, Houston.
Montz, G. N., 1978. Vegetational characteristics of the Atchafalaya river delta. Proc. Louisiana Acad. Sci. 61: 71–84.
Neill, C. & Deegan, L. A. (in press). The role of Mississippi River delta lobe development in determining the habitat composition, diversity, and productivity of Louisiana coastal wetlands. Amer. Midl. Nat.
Penfound, W. T. & Hathaway, E. S., 1938. Plant communities in the marshes of Louisiana. Ecol. Monogr. 8: 1–56.
Roberts, H. H., Adams, R. D. & Cunningham, R. H. W., 1980. Evolution of the sand-dominated subaerial phase, Atchafalaya delta, Louisiana. Am. Assoc. Petroleum Geol. Bull. 64: 264–279.
Usher, M. B., 1981. Modelling ecological succession, with particular reference to Markovian models. Vegetatio 46: 11–18.
Van Heerden, I. L., 1983. Deltaic sedimentation in eastern Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana. Center for Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Waldemarson-Jensén, E., 1979. Succession in relationship to lagoon development in the Laitaure delta, North Sweden. Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 66: 1–120.
Wang, F. C., 1984. The dynamics of a river-bay-delta system. J. Geophys. Res. 89: 8054–8060.
Wells, J. T., Chinburg, S. J. & Coleman, J. M., 1982. Development of the Atchafalaya River deltas: Generic analysis. Center of Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
Wentz, W. A., 1971. The impact of nutria (Myocastor coypus) on marsh vegetation in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. M.S. Thesis. Oregon State University, Corvallis.
Whittaker, R. H., 1975. Communities and ecosystems. 2nd ed. Macmillan, New York.
Wright, L. D., 1985. River deltas. In: R. A. Davis (ed.), Coastal sedimentary environments, pp. 1–76. Springer, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Dr W. Junk Publishers, Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rejmánek, M., Sasser, C.E., Gosselink, J.G. (1987). Modeling of vegetation dynamics in the Mississippi River deltaic plain. In: Prentice, I.C., van der Maarel, E. (eds) Theory and models in vegetation science. Advances in vegetation science, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4061-1_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4061-1_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8303-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-4061-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive