Search results for "Salt marsh"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Unraveling Salt Tolerance in Halophytes: A Comparative Study on Four Mediterranean Limonium Species with Different Geographic Distribution Patterns
2017
[EN] We have performed an extensive study on the responses to salt stress in four related Limonium halophytes with different geographic distribution patterns, during seed germination and early vegetative growth. The aims of the work were twofold: to establish the basis for the different chorology of these species, and to identify relevant mechanisms of salt tolerance dependent on the control of ion transport and osmolyte accumulation. Seeds were germinated in vitro, in the presence of increasing NaCl concentrations, and subjected to ¿recovery of germination¿ tests; germination percentages and velocity were determined to establish the relative tolerance and competitiveness of the four Limoni…
Hydroperiod length as key parameter controlling seed strategies in Mediterranean salt marshes: The case of Halopeplis amplexicaulis
2018
Abstract The comprehension of plant biology and the response to the environment is fundamental to achieve the optimal skills to manage and conserve the fine equilibrium between biotic and abiotic parameters regulating natural biodiversity in salt marshes. The behaviour of annuals living in these stressful conditions is poorly understood and constitutes a good model for a better understanding of this relationship. We thus identified the determinant environmental factors involved in population survival of Halopeplis amplexicaulis, a threatened annual species inhabiting salt marshes. To achieve this objective, maternal climatic parameters were analyzed in seeds collected in different years, an…
A formal classification of the Lygeum spartum vegetation of the Mediterranean Region
2019
Aims: We examined all available literature and some unpublished data on the We examined all available literature and some unpublished data on the grasslands dominated by Lygeum spartum from Southern Europe and North Africa to produce a formalised classification of this vegetation and to identify the main factors determining its plant species composition. Location: Mediterranean Basin and Iberian Peninsula. Methods: We used a dataset of 728 releves, which were resampled to reduce unbalanced sampling effort, resulting in a dataset of 568 releves and 846 taxa. We classified the plots by TWINSPAN, interpreted the resulting pools, and used them to develop formal definitions of phytosociological …
Carbon metabolic rates and GHG emissions in different wetland types of the Ebro Delta
2020
Deltaic wetlands are highly productive ecosystems, which characteristically can act as C-sinks. However, they are among the most threatened ecosystems, being very vulnerable to global change, and require special attention towards its conservation. Knowing their climate change mitigating potential, conservation measures should also be oriented with a climatic approach, to strengthen their regulatory services. In this work we studied the carbon biogeochemistry and the specific relevance of certain microbial guilds on carbon metabolisms of the three main types of deltaic wetlands located in the Ebro Delta, north-eastern Spain, as well as how they deal with human pressures and climate change ef…
Native-Invasive Plants vs. Halophytes in Mediterranean Salt Marshes: Stress Tolerance Mechanisms in Two Related Species
2016
Dittrichia viscosa is a Mediterranean ruderal species that over the last decades has expanded into new habitats, including coastal salt marshes, ecosystems that are per se fragile and threatened by human activities. To assess the potential risk that this native-invasive species represents for the genuine salt marsh vegetation, we compared its distribution with that of Inula crithmoides, a taxonomically related halophyte, in three salt marshes located in “La Albufera” Natural Park, near the city of Valencia (East Spain). The presence of D. viscosa was restricted to areas of low and moderate salinity, while I. crithmoides was also present in the most saline zones of the salt marshes. Analyses…
Interactive effects between physical forces and ecoystem engieneers on seed burial: a case study using Spartina anglica
2015
Seed burial (i.e. vertical seed dispersal) has become increasingly valued for its relevance for seed fate and plant recruitment. While ecosystem engineers have been generally considered as the most important drivers of seed burial, the role of physical forces, such as wind or water flow, has been largely overlooked. Using tidal habitats as a model system, and a combination of flume and mesocosm experiments, we investigated the effects of 1) currents, 2) benthic animals with different engineering activities and 3) their interplay on seed burial of a common salt marsh pioneer plant, Spartina anglica. Our results reveal that in such systems, water flow can be of equal or higher importance than…
<i>Limonium carvalhoi (Plumbaginaceae)</i>, a new endemic species from the Balearic Islands
1998
ROSSELLO, J.A., L. SAEZ & A.C. CARVALHO (1998). Limonium carvalhoi (Plumbaginaceae), a new endemic species from the Balearic Islands. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 56(1): 23-31. Limonium carvalhoi Rossello & L. Saez is described from a single salt marsh locality in southwest Majorca. Morphologically, L. carvalhoi is ciose to L. inexpectans, L. migjornense and L. magallufianum , all Balearic endemics. The new species has an apomictic breeding system and shows a single pollen/stigma combination (B/papillate type). Chromosome number ranges from 2n = 24 to 2n = 26. Based on the occurrence of a long metacentric chromosome in all cells examined, it is suggested that the original chromosome complement …
Reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Sicilian saltmarsh (Italy)
2013
The present study deals with the reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily, Italy) by combining different analytical approaches such as metal content evaluation, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry, and benthic foraminifera identification. A 41 cm core was collected in the sediments of a Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily, Italy) at a water depth of about 50 cm. Different time intervals were recognized, each characterized by peculiar features that testify different environmental conditions. In particular, the bottom layers of the sediment core (41–28 cm) comprised the lowest amount of mud fraction, only some selected met…
Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of soil organic matter extracted from a Brazilian mangrove and Spanish salt marshes
2009
The soil organic matter (SOM) extracted under different vegetation types from a Brazilian mangrove (Pai Matos Island, São Paulo State) and from three Spanish salt marshes (Betanzos Ría and Corrubedo Natural Parks, Galícia, and the Albufera Natural Park, Valencia) was investigated by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The chemical variation was larger in SOM from the Spanish marshes than in the SOM of the Brazilian mangroves, possibly because the marshes included sites with both tidal and nontidal variation, whereas the mangrove forest underwent just tidal variation. Thus, plant-derived organic matter was better preserved under permanently anoxic environments. Moreove…
Respondent Uncertainty and Ordering Effect on Willingness to Pay for Salt Marsh Conservation in the Brest Roadstead (France)
2017
International audience; This paper explores the potential link between the sensitivity of willingness to pay (WTP) to the order of presenting bid amounts in contingent valuation questions (ordering effect) and respondent uncertainty. The resource being valued is a public project to protect salt marshes against the spread of an invasive aquatic plant in the Brest roadstead (France). Valuation uncertainty is captured through a variant of payment card format where respondents are given the opportunity to report their WTP as either a single value (Option A) or an interval of values (Option B). The ordering effect is tested using both parametric models that ignore and control for the potential s…