Sulfur storage changed by exotic Spartina alterniflora in coastal saltmarshes of China

For the purpose of ecological engineering, Spartina alterniflora was introduced to China in 1979 and now covers about 112,000 ha of China's coastal lands. It was hypothesized that S. alterniflora could actively change the habitat environment, thus facilitating its competition over native species. In Yancheng Nature Reserve, sulfur storage of sediments and plant tissues was compared among marshes dominated by the exotic S. alterniflora and adjacent native Suaeda salsa and Phragmites australis and bare mudflat. Results showed that the S. alterniflora marsh contained the highest content of water-soluble, adsorbed, carbonate-occluded and total sulfur in the sediment. The sulfur levels were higher in the center than at the edges of the S. alterniflora marsh. Native marshes showed no significant difference in sediment sulfur levels. With greater biomass and higher tissue sulfur concentrations, plant sulfur storage of S. alterniflora vegetation was also larger than those of the native vegetations. Because higher concentrations of sulfur increase the competitive advantage of S. alterniflora over native halophytes, the results of the research showing that S. alterniflora increased marsh sulfur storage may shed light on the mechanism of expansion of monospecific vegetation in coastal China.     

上海地区外来种互花米草的分布现状

遥感技术(RS)现已广泛应用于海岸带资源调查、资源与环境动态监测以及滩涂植被定量分析。作者应用2003年8月2日Landsat5-TM多光谱遥感影像,利用遥感处理软件ERDASImagine8.6TM,经几何校正和分幅裁剪等图像预处理后,采用监督分类和目视解译相结合的方法对上海地区互花米草(Spartinaalterniflora)扩散现状进行解译分析,并结合全球定位系统(GPS)样点定位,对解译结果进行全面的野外验证和修正。同时,应用地理信息系统(GIS)对解译结果进行数据合成,统计出互花米草分布区域及面积等数据。实际调查与分析统计显示:上海地区互花米草群落总面积(2003年)为4,553.37hm2,占滩涂植被总面积的22.1%。除了崇明西滩和横沙岛外,互花米草群落已广泛分布于长江河口地区,其中南汇边滩最多,为2,069.01hm2,其次是崇明东滩和九段沙,分别为910.17hm2和769.05hm2。人工引种是互花米草种群在上海地区滩涂成功扩散的重要原因。大尺度的上海滩涂互花米草群落空间分布现状及其数量调查为外来物种的宏观定量调查提供了有效的手段,也为上海市滩涂资源生物多样性保护和可持续开发利用提供了科学依据。     

An experimental study on physical controls of an exotic plant Spartina alterniflora in Shanghai,China

Since Spartina alterniflora was introduced into the Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve in 1995, there has been rapid expansion of this species, seriously threatening the overall biodiversity. During 2005 and 2006, a field experiment to examine physical controls on S. alterniflora, including digging and tillage, breaking of rhizomes, mowing and biological substitution with Phragmites australis, was conducted to find a means of controlling this invasive plant. The growth parameters of plant density, coverage and above-ground biomass were used to evaluate the efficiency of different treatments. The results showed that for all treatments, the plant density, coverage and above-ground biomass were significantly lower than those of the control in the first growing season. However, in the second season, the differences between the treatment and the control were not significant and there were no significant differences by the end of the second growing season. The breaking of rhizomes treatment inhibited the growth of S. alterniflora significantly in the first growing season and inhibition increased with the depth of the treatment. However, the inhibition of growth disappeared after two growing seasons and there were no significant differences among the treatments and the control. The mowing treatment significantly inhibited the growth of S. alterniflora in the first growing season. By the end of the second growing season, the growth of S. alterniflora had recovered to some extent, and only the treatments of JUN, JUL, AUG and SEP significantly inhibited its growth. The treatment of AUG might be the most suitable time for controlling via mowing. In the biological substitution treatment, the transplanted P. australis survived quite well over both growing seasons and both the plant height and fruiting percent increased considerably in the second growing season. A realistic strategy for controlling and managing the invasion of S. alterniflora in the nature reserve should involve integrating all four control measures on the basis of their intensity, frequency, timing and area. Further work on longer-term field experiments is required in order to test these conclusions further and provide useful information for the wetland management of the nature reserve.     

外来种互花米草和土著种芦苇空中凋落物氮动态的比较研究

土壤氮含量是限制植物生长的重要因素, 所以入侵植物要入侵成功必须突破土壤氮限制的瓶颈。近年来, 外来种互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)在中国海岸带盐沼中快速取代土著种芦苇(Phragmites australis), 引起了多方面的生态学后果。为了解互花米草与本地种芦苇空中凋落物的氮含量是否存在差异及产生这种差异的机制, 2003年11月至2004年4月, 作者在长江口九段沙湿地对互花米草与芦苇空中凋落物氮含量(单位面积凋落物的总氮量, N g/m²)进行了测定, 结果表明互花米草的氮含量比芦苇高。在空中分解过程中, 互花米草茎(包括叶鞘与秆)凋落物的氮含量显著上升, 但芦苇茎凋落物的氮含量显著降低。2006年1月, 又对中国海岸带6个地点的盐沼中互花米草的凋落物进行取样和氮浓度测定, 发现互花米草空中叶鞘与秆的老凋落物(2004年冬季产生)的氮浓度均显著高于其新产生的凋落物(2005年冬季产生), 表明在空中分解过程中, 互花米草叶鞘与秆凋落物氮含量增加具有普遍性。进一步的温室受控实验结果表明, 互花米草凋落物氮含量增加可能是由腐生固氮微生物引起的。以上结果表明,互花米草取代芦苇后, 改变了空中凋落物的氮动态, 增加了生态系统中氮的输入, 可能有利于互花米草的快速扩张。     

互花米草的两面性及其生态控制

互花米草是美国大西洋沿岸的本土植物,其高生产力、高繁殖率、高抗性和致密发达的地下部分等生物学特性使它能在沿海地区的抗风防浪、保滩护岸、促淤造陆、修复湿地和固定二氧化碳等方面发挥很好的正生态效应;然而,正是这与生俱来的生物学优势使该物种在引种地区侵占光滩,很快形成茂盛的单种优势群落,体现出很强的入侵性,从而也具有相当大的负生态效应。本文综述了互花米草的正负生态效应,分别从以下4个方面展开:抗风防浪的功效与改变景观的负作用,促淤造陆的功效与改变河口水文格局的负作用,固碳效应与释放温室气体的负作用,为一些物种提供营养与栖息地的同时对其他物种栖息环境的破坏性。研究证实,互花米草的本土化倾向已比较突出,如在超过100年引种历史的美国西部维拉帕湾、引种历史近40年的旧金山湾,以及引种历史近30年的我国大丰滩涂等。对于互花米草的生态控制,应结合各地的自然、社会、经济状况,因地制宜,如在一些生态脆弱(开发过度、缺乏大型植被、蚀退现象严重)的沿海地区,防灾减灾任务艰巨,根除互花米草须谨慎;在充分利用互花米草抗风防浪和促淤造陆后,可以适时围垦,以达到某些区域大面积减除的目标;此外,综合治理与利用相结合是较为科学的举措,既充分利用互花米草生物质(加工生产新食品、保健品、生物气等),又有效控制其种子飘落和扩繁,是一项生态工程,也是一种具有生态经济效益的利国利民之举。     

上海崇明东滩外来物种互花米草二次入侵过程

选取上海崇明东滩“刈割+水位调节”集成技术治理互花米草示范工程样地,对互花米草二次入侵过程进行了2年的监测.结果表明:大量互花米草实生苗在春季随潮水沿潮沟等通道向恢复自然水文区扩散定居,2年即可形成与周边群落无明显差异的二次入侵群落,而群落边缘通过无性繁殖的扩散距离有限.在保持淹水控制区,互花米草两年累计扩散距离小于1 m.在物理隔离区,2年未监测到互花米草的二次入侵现象.实生苗在春季的快速拓植是互花米草实现种群二次入侵的关键.彻底消除治理区周边互花米草扩散源,设置隔离带以阻止其向治理区的扩散,或采用种植芦苇等土著物种进行生物替代,是防止互花米草二次入侵的主要措施.     

Effects of salinity and temperature stress on Ecophysiological characteristics of exotic cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora

Salintiy and temperature are two important ecological factors which affect the distribution and abundance of Spartina alerniflora Loisel. To find out how cordgrass adapts to the environmental conditions in the introduced range, we studied the dynamics of a series of important physiological components including superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), soluble sugar and free proline under different salinity and temperature stresses. The results showed that low NaCl concentration (lower than 100 mmol·L^?1) enhanced the growth of S. alterniflora. On the contrary, high NaCl concentration (higher than 100 mmol·L^?1) inhibited the growth of S. alterniflora. To a certain extent, S. alterniflora was able to be acclimated to the osmotic pressure created by external solution concentration by adjusting the activities of POD, SOD and CAT, and the contents of free proline and soluble sugar. S. alterniflora varied in its responses to environment in different parts of the plant under 5°C and 38°C temperature stress. Compared with roots, leaves accumulated more soluble sugar, and CAT activities in leaves were higher, whereas SOD and POD activities in leaves were much lower than those in roots.     

Density-dependent effects on the dieback of exotic species Spartina anglica in coastal China

The exotic species Spartina anglica C.E. Hubbard has been experiencing dieback in coastal China during the past decade, while it is invading other places in the world. Thus, an explanation for the dieback of the populations in coastal China would be helpful for controlling invasions of S. anglica in other places of the world. Both field and greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the possible role of density in the dieback of the populations in China. The density effects were tested by maintaining six density levels in field experiments and three density levels in greenhouse experiments over 7 months. The results showed that growth, asexual reproduction and biomass accumulation in medium density were significantly higher than those in other density treatments for field experiments. The growth and asexual reproduction in high-density patches were lowest among the treatments in the field. Data showed the same pattern for the greenhouse experiments. The results implied that density regulation had a great effect on most of the studied parameters. Because the species is surviving at high density along the Chinese coast, and has a much lower growth rate due to strong intraspecific competition, and also because high-density populations may decline into low density populations due to resource exhaustion, high plant density might be one of the important factors in the dieback of S. anglica.     

互花米草群落功率最大化倾向

植物新种进入新区域后,通过扰动或搅局,改变生态系统的结构,形成有特色的自组 织生态系统,趋向新条件下的功率最大化.本文应用能值分析的方法,分别对苏北互花米草 生态系统和光滩生态系统进行能值分析和系统评估.结果表明：互花米草生态系统每年能值 产出比光滩生态系统高1.52E+18 sej.能值密度是光滩的4.72倍,基础能值产出率约为光滩生态系统的5倍.互花米草生态系统能更有效地利用能量,增加系统内部的 能值贮存,实现系统内部的功率最大化.互花米草入侵某区域滩涂后,通过自组织促使整个互花米草生态系统趋于功率最大化,充分发挥生态服务功能,但由于其繁殖扩散过快,导致种群爆发,产生了一系列负面效应,如抑制本土物种、侵占航道、危害贝类养殖等.     

三种类型互花米草抗盐生态型的分化

从美国引种成功的三种类型互花米草在不同NaCl浓度的盐渍生境中,叶细胞膜透性、渗透调节物(主要是K+、Na+)和氨基酸的变化以及光合作用、呼吸作用的变化都存在明显的差异,这是由于长期不同生境的选择和互花米草的基因型适应所造成的生态型分化的结果。按抗盐性分：G型抗性最强、F型最弱、N型居中。     

Spartina alterniflora invasions in the Yangtze River estuary,China: An overview of current status and ecosystem effects

The Yangtze River estuary is an important ecoregion. However, Spartina alterniflora, native to North America, was introduced to the estuary in the 1990s through both natural dispersal and humans and now it is a dominant species in the estuarine ecosystems, with its invasions leading to multiple consequences to the estuary. S. alterniflora had great competitive effects on native species, including Scirpus mariqueter and Phragmites australis, and could potentially exclude the natives locally. The presence of S. alterniflora had little influence on the total density of soil nematodes and macrobenthonic invertebrates, but significantly altered the structure of trophic functional groups of nematode and macrobenthonic invertebrate communities. The conversion of mudflats to Spartina meadows had significant effects on birds of Charadriidae and Scolopacidae, which might be attributable to the reduction of food resources and the physical alterations of habitats for shorebirds. S. alterniflora invasions increased the primary productivity of the invaded ecosystems, and altered carbon and nitrogen cycling processes. Our studies focused mainly on the effects of S. alterniflora invasions on the structure of native ecosystems; thus further studies are clearly needed to investigate how ecosystem functioning is affected by the modification of the structure of estuarine ecosystems by S. alterniflora invasions.     

The macrobenthos in Spartina alterniflora salt marshes of the Wanggang tidal-flat,Jiangsu coast,China

On the Jiangsu coast, eastern China, Spartina alterniflora, which was introduced artificially into the region, is becoming a dominant plant species in the inter-tidal salt marshes. In order to evaluate the environmental and ecological impact of the colonization of S. alterniflora, we carried out investigations into the benthic macrofauna of the Spartina marshes of the Wanggang area, central Jiangsu coast, in 2006 and 2007. Based on analysis of the data sets obtained, 12 species of macrobenthos have been identified for the Wanggang salt marsh, including S. alterniflora, Cerithidea cingulata, Littorna scabra, Bithynia fuchsiana, Macrophthalmus japonicus, Uca arcuata, Nereis sp., Boleophthalmus petinirostris, Cyclina sinensis, Bullacta exarata, Angustassiminea castanea and Glaucomya chinensis. The results indicate that some of the native species have adapted to the new ecological environment associated with the cordgrass S. alterniflora. The biomass of macrobenthos varies significantly over different parts of the salt marsh. Further, there is a seasonal change in bio-density, with the density in summer (July and August) > autumn (November) > early summer (May). At the landward edge and over the central part of the S. alterniflora marsh, the bio-diversity is higher than the other areas of the marsh.     

Ecological control and integral utilization of Spartina alterniflora

Spartina alterniflora Loisel (S. alterniflora) is native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of North America and was introduced to China in 1979. Over the years, S. alterniflora played an important role in protecting coastal banks, accelerating sediment deposition, improving local economies, and alleviating natural disasters. As an exotic species, S. alterniflora has a very strong capability of propagation, which has caused some negative effects, such as occupying ecological niches of some seashells and blocking harbors by fast sediment deposition. As a result, ecological control of S. alterniflora in some areas has drawn wide attention from biologists and ecologists in China and abroad. For this paper, we studied the technology of topography and hydrology modification to substitute S. alterniflora with P. asutralis and reported our results in a project applying this technology. Furthermore, we studied various ways to make use of biomass of S. alterniflora and found that such ways were a good alternative to ecological control of S. alterniflora.     

长江口互花米草生长区大型底栖动物的群落特征

2005年对长江口潮滩湿地互花米草(Spartina alterniflora)生长区不同季节大型底栖动物群落特征的研究表明:长江口互花米草生长区的大型底栖动物有21种,其中甲壳纲10种、多毛纲5种、腹足纲5种、辨鳃纲1种.主要种类有拟沼螺(Assiminea sp.)、背蚓虫(Notomastus latericeus)、尖锥拟蟹守螺(Cerithidea largillierli)、中国绿螂(Glauconome chinensis)、钩虾(Gammaridae sp.)等.食性功能群均以碎屑食者和植食者为主.大型底栖动物平均栖息密度为(650.5±719.2)个/m2,标准误主要是由于北湖的拟沼螺密度很大.栖息密度从大到小的顺序为沿河口梯度从内到外分布的北湖边滩、崇明东滩、金山卫边滩.大型底栖动物群落分布不均匀,沿河口梯度变化存在明显的空间差异.栖息密度和物种多样性在夏季最高,冬季最低.大型底栖动物平均生物量为(20.8±6.1)g/m2,季相变化为夏季＞秋季＞春季＞冬季.BIO-ENV分析表明沉积物粒径和盐沼高度是大型底栖动物群落特征的主要影响因素.不同研究结果的差异除了时空因素外可能与互花米草的种群动态有关.加强不同时间尺度的研究有助于正确评价互花米草对大型底栖动物的影响.     

Spartina alterniflora loisel root structure and meiofaunal abundance

Meiofauna were collected from adjacent areas with and without Spartina alterniflora Loisel culms. Environmental complexity resulting from root structure cannot be determined by simply observing S. alterniflora culm distribution. There were no significant differences between the two areas with respect to root density or root sizes; however, the number of live roots was significantly higher in the area containing Spartina culms. Nematodes, the most abundant taxon were positively correlated with live root density. In contrast, the number of dead roots and harpacticoid copepods were higher in the area without culms. This study suggests that nematodes are positively associated with micro-oxygenated zones produced by live S. alterniflora roots. Other measures of biogenic structure, such as total root density or root size fractions are not important in affecting nematode abundance.     

外来入侵种互花米草防治研究进展

互花米草在其原产地具有保滩护堤、促淤造陆等生态功能,但在被引入其他地区后,常给当地生态系统带来诸多负面影响,因此,互花米草常被视为入侵种,对互花米草的入侵性以及防控方面的研究成为一大热点.本研究从物理防治、化学防治、生物防治、生物替代防治、综合防治和防控策略6个方面综述了互花米草防治的最新研究进展,对各类措施的理论基础、技术方案、防治效果和环境影响等方面进行了分析,指出了现有防治技术的不足,并提出生态风险分区防控等建议.     

Gas Transport in the Marsh Grass, Spartina alterniflora

Spartina plants have continuous gas spaces from the leaves tothe tips of the roots. Oxygen values in the roots are as lowas 3 per cent and increase toward the stem. Carbon dioxide valuesare highest in the rhizome and decrease up the stem and towardthe root tips. Oxygen and carbon dioxide moved through the plantsat equal rates for equal gradients, and these rates agree withmeasurements made on plants in the marsh. Calculated oxygenand carbon dioxide fluxes for the observed gradients in theobserved gas spaces agreed with measured fluxes. We concludethat gases move in and out of Spartina roots by diffusion throughuninterrupted gas spaces within the plant.     

Effects of Spartina alterniflora Invasion on Soil Respiration in the Yangtze River Estuary,China

Many studies have found that plant invasion can enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) pools, by increasing net primary production (NPP) and/or decreased soil respiration. While most studies have focused on C input, little attention has been paid to plant invasion effects on soil respiration, especially in wetland ecosystems. Our study examined the effects of Spartina alterniflora invasion on soil respiration and C dynamics in the Yangtze River estuary. The estuary was originally occupied by two native plant species: Phragmites australis in the high tide zone and Scirpus mariqueter in the low tide zone. Mean soil respiration rates were 185.8 and 142.3 mg CO₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ in S. alterniflora and P. australis stands in the high tide zone, and 159.7 and 112.0 mg CO₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ in S. alterniflora and S. mariqueter stands in the low tide zone, respectively. Aboveground NPP (ANPP), SOC, and microbial biomass were also significantly higher in the S. alterniflora stands than in the two native plant stands. S. alterniflora invasion did not significantly change soil inorganic carbon or pH. Our results indicated that enhanced ANPP by S. alterniflora exceeded invasion-induced C loss through soil respiration. This suggests that S. alterniflora invasion into the Yangtze River estuary could strengthen the net C sink of wetlands in the context of global climate change.     

Genotypic diversity enhances invasive ability of Spartina alterniflora

Although genetic diversity is very important for alien species, which have to cope with new environments, little is known about the role that genetic diversity plays in their invasive success. In this study, we set up a manipulation experiment including three levels of genotypic diversity to test whether genotypic diversity can enhance the invasive ability of alien species, in our case the invasive Spartina alterniflora in China, and to infer the underlying mechanisms. There was no significant relationship between genotypic diversity and parameters of performance in the first year; however, from the summer of the second year onwards, genotypic diversity enhanced four of the six parameters of performance. After two growing seasons, there were significant positive relationships between genotypic diversity and maximum spread distance, patch size, shoot number per patch, and aboveground biomass. Moreover, abundance of the native dominant species Scirpus mariqueter was marginally significantly decreased with genotypic diversity of S. alterniflora, suggesting that enhanced invasive ability of S. alterniflora may have depressed the growth of the native species. There was no significant difference in most measures of performance among six genotypes, but we observed a transgressive over performance in four measures in multiple‐genotype patches. At the end of the experiment, there were significant nonadditive effects of genotypic diversity according to Monte Carlo permutations, in six‐genotype, but not three‐genotype plots. Our results indicated that both additive and nonadditive effects played roles in the positive relationship between genetic diversity and invasion success, and nonadditive effects were stronger as duration increased.