Assessment of Plant Community Characteristics in Natural and Human-Altered Coastal Marsh Ecosystems

• Published in: Estuaries and coasts Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 52 - 64
• Main Authors: Meixler, Marcia S., Kennish, Michael J., Crowley, Katherine F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Science+Business Media 01.01.2018; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abundance; Annual variations; anthropogenic activities; Anthropogenic factors; Aquatic plants; canopy; Climate change; Coastal ecology; Coastal marshes; Coastal Sciences; Coastal zone management; coasts; Distichlis spicata; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological function; Ecology; Ecosystem disturbance; Ecosystems; Environment; Environmental Management; Flowers & plants; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Habitat changes; Habitats; Herbivores; Human influences; humans; Hydrology; Marsh management; Mid-Atlantic region; New Jersey; plant characteristics; Plant communities; Plant cover; Plant species; salt marsh plants; Salt marshes; Saltmarshes; Segments; Shorelines; Spartina patens; SPECIAL SECTION: THE NATIONAL ESTUARINE RESEARCH RESERVE SYSTEM: AN INTEGRATED NETWORK OF RESEARCH AND MONITORING SITES SUPPORTING COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT; Species composition; species diversity; summer; vegetation; Water and Health; Water management; Wetlands; Mid-Atlantic states; Mid-Atlantic region; New Jersey; Tuckerton Peninsula; Species composition; Salt marsh habitat; Climate change effects; Marsh plant communities

Salt marsh ecosystems provide many critical ecological functions, yet they are subject to considerable disturbance ranging from direct human alteration to increased inundation due to climate change. We assessed emergent salt marsh plant characteristics in the Tuckerton Peninsula, a large expanse (~...