Author(s): Dongdong Qiu; Baoshan Cui; Jiaguo Yan
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Biogeomorphology; Seedling establishment; Microtopography; Burrowing crabs; Intertidal saltmarsh
Abstract: Increasing evidence shows that both the biological and hydrological process can structure communities and promote landscape complexity by modifying the geomorphodynamic in many ecosystems, however, a comprehensive explanation of ecohydrological interactions influencing on the seedling establishment remains rarely understood. Field surveys and manipulative experiments were conducted to test the linkage between seedling establishment of Suaeda salsa and tidal geomorphologic condition in a spatially expanded intertidal saltmarsh. Our results showed ecohydrological processes triggered changes in microtopography determined the seed sources and magnitude, accounting for the potential success of seedling establishment. We found that the successful establishment of seedlings can be largely influenced by concave-convex microtopography created by crab burrowing and tides, crack of root segment disturbed by the integrative effects of water flushing and stiff stem, sediment burial and tidally-driven stem onto the ground, with a contribution by 55.02%, 14.24%, 11.31% and 19.42%, respectively. We also found that the positive feedbacks of concave-convex microtopography and plant shading contributing to the crab burrowing, consequently further promoting the seedling establishment of S. salsa. The findings imply that the need to synthesize ecohydrological processes control of saltmarshes restoration, simultaneously identifying both the positive and negative feedbacks between plant and geomorphology that allow seedlings to resist environmental disturbances.
Year: 2018