Abstract
Coastal Louisiana is experiencing extremely high rates of wetland loss, particularly within the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Although multiple stressors contribute to this loss, one major driver is decreased wetland elevation stemming from disconnection of recurrent sediment rich influxes of Mississippi River floodwater. The decrease in sediment delivery, in conjunction with natural subsidence processes, reduce marsh elevations and increase flooding stress on vegetation, leading to marsh collapse. River sediment diversions are large-scale restoration techniques intended to rehabilitate Louisiana's degraded coastal wetlands by mimicking historic crevasse splays, thereby stimulating land building and vegetation growth. However, such large-scale restoration techniques require an appropriate knowledge base of vegetation and soil biogeochemical responses to altered environmental conditions. In this research, monospecific sods of three foundational marsh species (Spartina patens, Spartina alterniflora, Typha latifolia) were exposed to inundation depth (20 and 40 cm), duration (8 and 16 weeks), and salinity (0 and 5 psu) treatments consistent with a range of anticipated sediment diversion scenarios in a mesocosm setting. Additionally, sods were monitored through week 20 after being removed from their experimental conditions. Both Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia displayed relatively consistent increases in stem densities over time across inundation depth-duration treatments, whereas Spartina patens displayed a sharp decline in stem densities at 40 cm flooding depths. Additionally, both Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens had the least observed amount of total aboveground biomass at 40 cm flooding depths. Spartina patens sods displayed a significant loss in surface elevation with increased flooding stress through study week 20, whereas Typha latifolia demonstrated a significant gain in surface elevation. These results suggest that restoration projects increasing inundation within the limits of the depths employed herein and the anticipated duration of river diversion induced inundation are unlikely to negatively impact the aboveground growth responses of Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia, but could reduce stem densities and aboveground biomass of Spartina patens.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Spartina alterniflora stem densities increased over time across inundation treatments.
- Taxon
- Spartina alterniflora
Sporobolus alternifloruse1 - Treatment
- inundation depth-duration treatmentse1
- Outcome
- stem densitiese1
- Direction
- increasese1
- Qualifier
- over timee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Both Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia displayed relatively consistent increases in stem densities over time across inundation depth-duration treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Typha latifolia stem densities increased over time across inundation treatments.
- Taxon
- Typha latifolia
Typha latifoliae1 - Treatment
- inundation depth-duration treatmentse1
- Outcome
- stem densitiese1
- Direction
- increasese1
- Qualifier
- over timee1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Both Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia displayed relatively consistent increases in stem densities over time across inundation depth-duration treatments”
Claim · model-written summary
Spartina patens stem densities declined sharply at 40 cm flooding depths.
- Taxon
- Spartina patens
Sporobolus pumiluse2 - Treatment
- 40 cm flooding depthse2
- Outcome
- stem densitiese2
- Direction
- declinee2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“whereas Spartina patens displayed a sharp decline in stem densities at 40 cm flooding depths”
Claim · model-written summary
Spartina alterniflora had the least total aboveground biomass at 40 cm flooding depths.
- Taxon
- Spartina alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse3
- Treatment
- 40 cm flooding depthse3
- Outcome
- total aboveground biomasse3
- Direction
- leaste3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“Additionally, both Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens had the least observed amount of total aboveground biomass at 40 cm flooding depths”
Claim · model-written summary
Spartina patens had the least total aboveground biomass at 40 cm flooding depths.
- Taxon
- Spartina patensSporobolus pumiluse3
- Treatment
- 40 cm flooding depthse3
- Outcome
- total aboveground biomasse3
- Direction
- leaste3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“Additionally, both Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens had the least observed amount of total aboveground biomass at 40 cm flooding depths”
Claim · model-written summary
Spartina patens lost surface elevation significantly with increased flooding stress through week 20.
- Taxon
- Spartina patensSporobolus pumiluse4
- Treatment
- increased flooding stresse4
- Outcome
- surface elevatione4
- Direction
- losse4
- Qualifier
- through study week 20e4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Spartina patens sods displayed a significant loss in surface elevation with increased flooding stress through study week 20, whereas Typha latifolia demonstrated a significant gain in surface elevation”
Claim · model-written summary
Typha latifolia gained surface elevation significantly.
- Taxon
- Typha latifoliaTypha latifoliae4
- Outcome
- surface elevatione4
- Direction
- gaine4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Spartina patens sods displayed a significant loss in surface elevation with increased flooding stress through study week 20, whereas Typha latifolia demonstrated a significant gain in surface elevation”
Claim · model-written summary
Restoration projects increasing inundation within the tested depths are unlikely to negatively impact Spartina alterniflora growth.
- Taxon
- Spartina alternifloraSporobolus alternifloruse5
- Outcome
- restoration projects increasing inundation within the limits of the depths employed hereine5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“These results suggest that restoration projects increasing inundation within the limits of the depths employed herein and the anticipated duration of river diversion induced inundation are unlikely to negatively impact the aboveground growth responses of Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia”
Claim · model-written summary
Restoration projects increasing inundation within the tested depths are unlikely to negatively impact Typha latifolia growth.
- Taxon
- Typha latifoliaTypha latifoliae5
- Outcome
- restoration projects increasing inundation within the limits of the depths employed hereine5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“These results suggest that restoration projects increasing inundation within the limits of the depths employed herein and the anticipated duration of river diversion induced inundation are unlikely to negatively impact the aboveground growth responses of Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia”
Claim · model-written summary
Increased inundation could reduce stem densities and aboveground biomass of Spartina patens.
- Taxon
- Spartina patensSporobolus pumiluse6
- Treatment
- restoration projects increasing inundatione5
- Outcome
- stem densities and aboveground biomasse6
- Direction
- reducee6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“These results suggest that restoration projects increasing inundation within the limits of the depths employed herein and the anticipated duration of river diversion induced inundation are unlikely to negatively impact the aboveground growth responses of Spartina alterniflora and Typha latifolia”
e6“but could reduce stem densities and aboveground biomass of Spartina patens”
The same questions in other papers
flooding · growth · Sporobolus alterniflorus (smooth cordgrass)Positive and negative results
3 papers in the same direction as this paper · 4 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- positive
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →flooding · growth · Sporobolus pumilusResults agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- negative
- negative
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.