Abstract
Seasonal variation patterns of aboveground and belowground biomass, net primary production, and nutrient accumulation were assessed inAtriplex portulacoides L. andLimoniastrum monopetalum (L.) Boiss. in Castro Marim salt marsh, Portugal. Sampling was conducted for five periods during 2001–2002 (autumn, winter, spring, summer, and autumn). This study indicates that both species have a clear seasonal variation pattern for both aboveground and belowground biomass. Mean live biomass was 2516 g m−2 yr−1 forL. monopetalum and 598 g m−2 yr−1 forA. portulacoides. Peak living biomass, in spring for both species, was three times greater in the former, 3502 g m−2 yr−1, than in the latter, 1077 g m−2 yr−1. For both the Smalley (Groenendijk 1984) and Weigert and Evans (1964) methods, productivity ofL. monopetalum (2917 and 3635 g m−2 yr−1, respectively) was greater than that ofA. portulacoides (1002 and 1615 g m−2 yr−1, respectively). Belowground biomass ofL. monopetalum was 1.7 times greater than that ofA. portulacoides. In spite of this, the root:shoot ratio forA. monopetalum to aerial components. Leaf area index was similar for both species, but specific leaf area ofA. portulacoides was twice that ofL. monopetalum. The greatest nutrient contents were found in leaves. Leaf nitrogen content was maximum in summer for both species (14.6 mg g−1 forA. portulacoides and 15.5 mg g−1 forL. monopetalum). Leaf phosphorus concentration was minimum in summer (1.1 mg g−1 inA. portulacoides and 1.2 mg g−1 inL. monopetalum). Leaf potassium contents inA. portulacoides were around three times greater than inL. monopetalum. Leaf calcium contents inL. monopetalum were three times greater than inA. portulacoides. There was a pronounced seasonal variation of calcium content in the former, while in the latter no clear variation was registered. Both species exhibited a decrease in magnesium leaf contents in the summer period. Mangamese content inL. monopetalum leaves was tenfold that inA. portulacoides. Seasonal patterns of nutrient contents inA. portulacoides andL. monopetalum suggest that availability of these elements was not a limiting factor to biomass production.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Literature Cited
Adam, P.. 1990. Saltmarsh Ecology, 1st edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
Albert, R. andM. Popp. 1977. Chemical composition of halophytes from the Neusiedler Lake region in Austria.Oecologia 27:157–170.
Blumwald, E. 2000. Sodium transport and salt tolerance in plants.Current Opinion Cell Biology 12:431–434.
Bocock, K. L. andO. J. W. Gilbert. 1957. The disappearance of leaf litter under different woodland conditions.Plant and Soil 9: 179–185.
Bouchard, V., V. Créach, J. C. Lefeuvre, G. Bertru, andA. Mariotti. 1998. Fate of plant detritus in a European salt marsh dominated byAtriplex portulacoides (L.) Aellen.Hydrobiologia 373/374:75–87.
Bouchard, V. andJ. C. Lefeuvre. 1996. Hétérogénéité de la productivité d’Atriplex portulacoides (L.) Aellen dans un marais salé macrotidal.Comptes Rendus de lAcadémie des Sciences 319: 1027–1034.
Bouchard, V. andJ. C. Lefeuvre. 2000. Primary production and macro-detritus dynamics in a European salt marsh: Carbon and nitrogen budgets.Aquatic Botany 67:23–42.
Boyer, K. E., P. Fong, R. R. Vance, andR. F. Ambrose. 2001.Salicornia virginica in a southern California salt marsh: Seasonal patterns and nutrient-enrichment experiment.Wetlands 21: 315–326.
Bremner, J. M. andC. S. Mulvaney. 1982. Nitrogen—Total, p. 595–624.In A. L. Page, R. H. Miller, and D. R. Keeney (eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Agronomy Monograph 9, Part 2, 2nd edition. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin.
Cheeseman, J. M. 1988. Mechanisms of salinity tolerance in plants.Plant Physiology 87:547–550.
Cramer, G. R., A. Lauchli, andV. S. Polito. 1985. Displacement of Ca2+ by Na+ from the plasmalemma of root cells: A primary response to stress?Plant Physiology 79:207–211.
Cranford, P. J., D. C. Gordon, andC. M. Jarvis. 1989. Measurement of cordgrass,Spartina alterniflora, production in a macrotidal estuary, Bay of Fundy.Estuaries 12:27–34.
Curcó, A., C. Ibáñez, J. W. Ray, andN. Prat. 2002. Net primary production and decomposition of salt marshes of the Ebre delta (Catalonia, Spain).Estuaries 25:309–324.
Daoud, S., M. C. Harrouni, and R. Bengueddour. 2001. Biomass production and ion composition of some halophytes irrigated with different seawater dilutions. First International Conference on Saltwater Intrusion and Coastal Aquifers-Monitoring, Modeling, and Management. Essaouira, Morocco.
De Leeuw, J., H. Olff, andJ. P. Bakker. 1990. Year-to-year variation in peak above-ground biomass of six salt-marsh angiosperm communities as related to rainfall deficit and inundation frequency.Aquatic Botany 36:139–151.
Donovan, L. A., J. H. Richards, andE. J. Schaber. 1997. Nutrient relations of the halophytic shrub,Sarcobatus vermiculatus, along a soil salinity gradient.Plant and Soil 190:105–117.
Flowers, T. J., P. F. Troke, andA. R. Yeo. 1977. The mechanism of salt tolerance in halophytes.Annual Review Plant Physiology 28: 89–121.
Gallagher, J. L., R. J. Reimold, R. A. Linthurst, andW. J. Pfeiffer. 1980. Aerial production, mortality, and mineral accumulation-export dynamics inSpartina alterniflora andJuncus roemerianus plant stands in a Georgia salt marsh.Ecology 61:303–312.
Gorham, J., L. L. Hughes, andR. G. Wyn Jones. 1980. Chemical composition of the salt-marsh plants from Ynys Mon (Anglesey): The concept of physiotypes.Plant Cell Environment 3:309–318.
Gorham, J. andR. G. Wyn Jones. 1983. Solute distribution inSuaeda maritima.Planta 157:344–349.
Grattan, S. R. andC. M. Grieve. 1999. Salinity-mineral nutrient relations in horticultural crops.Scientia Horticulturae 78:127–157.
Greenway, H. andR. Munns. 1980. Mechanism of salt tolerance in nonhalophytes.Annual Review of Plant Physiology 31:149–190.
Groenendijk, A. M. 1984. Primary production of four dominant salt-marsh angiosperms in the SW Netherlands.Vegetatio 57: 143–152.
Groenendijk, A. M. andM. A. Vink-Lievaart. 1987. Primary production and biomass on a Dutch salt marsh: Emphasis on the below-ground component.Vegetatio 70:21–27.
Gross, M. F., M. A. Hardisky, andV. Klemas. 1990. Inter-annual spatial variability in the response ofSpartina alterniflora biomass to amount of precipitation.Journal of Coastal Research 6:949–960.
Gross, M. F., M. A. Hardisky, P. L. Wolf, andV. Klemas. 1991. Relationship between aboveground and belowground biomass ofSpartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass).Estuaries 14:180–191.
Gul, B., D. J. Weber, andM. A. Khan. 2000. Effect of salinity and planting density on physiological responses ofAllenrolfea occidentalis.Western North American Naturalist 60:188–197.
Hopkinson, Jr.,C. S., J. G. Gosselink, andF. T. Parrondo. 1980. Production of coastal Louisiana marsh plants calculated from phenometric techniques.Ecology 61:1091–1098.
Hsieh, Y. P. 1996. Assessing aboveground net primary production of vascular plants in marshes.Estuaries 19:82–85.
Hughes, R. G. andA. L. Paramor. 2004. On the loss of saltmarshes in south-east England and methods for their restoration.Journal of Applied Ecology 41:440–448.
Ibañez, C., J. W. Day, andD. Pont 1999. Primary production and decomposition of wetlands of the Rhône Delta, France: Interactive impacts of human modifications and relative sea level rise.Journal of Coastal Research 15:717–731.
Khan, M. A., I. A. Ungar, andA. M. Showalter. 2000. Effects of salinity on growth, water relations and ion accumulation of the subtropical perennial halophyte,Atriplex griffithii var.stocksii Annals of Botany 85:225–232.
Larcher, W. 1995. Physiological Plant Ecology, 3rd edition. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Lefeuvre, J. C. (ed.). 1996. Effect of environmental change on European salt marshes. EEC contract No EV5V-CT92-0098. Final report Volume 1–5. Laboratoire d’Evolution des Systemes Naturels et Modifiés, Université de Rennes 1, Rennes, France.
Linthurst, R. A. andR. J. Reimold. 1978. An evaluation of methods for estimating the net primary production of estuarine angiosperms.Journal of Applied Ecology 15:919–931.
Lousã, M. F. 1986. Comunidades halofiticas da Reserva de Castro-Marim—Estudo fitossociológico e fitoecológico. Tese de Doutoramento, Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Miranda, P., F. E. S. Coelho, A. R. Tomé, andM. A. Valente. 2002. 20th century Portuguese climate and climate scenarios, p. 25–83.In F. D. Santos, K. Forbes, and R. Moita (eds.), Climate Change in Portugal: Scenarios, Impacts and Adaptation Measures, SIAM project. Gradiva, Lisboa.
Munns, R. 2002. Comparative physiology of salt and water stress.Plant, Cell and Environment 25:239–250.
Murphy, J. andJ. P. Riley. 1962. A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters.Analytica Chimica Acta 27:31–36.
Neves, J. P., L. F. Ferreira, M. M. Vaz, and L. C. Gazarini. In press. Gas exchange in the salt marsh speciesAtriplex portulacoides L. andLimoniastrum monopetalum L. in Southern Portugal. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum.
Pearcy, R. W. andS. L. Ulstin. 1984. Effects of salinity on growth and photosynthesis of three California tidal marsh species.Oecologia 62:68–73.
Pennings, S. C. andR. M. Callaway. 1992. Salt marsh plant zonation: The relative importance of competition and physical factors.Ecology 73:681–690.
Pont, D., J. W. Day, P. Hensel, E. Franquet, F. Torre, P. Rioual, C. Ibañez, andE. Coulet. 2002. Response scenarios for the deltaic plain of the Rhone in the face of an acceleration in the rate of sea-level rise with special attention toSalicornia-type environments.Estuaries 25:337–358.
Qadir, M. andS. Schubert. 2002. Degradation processes and nutrient constrains in sodic soils.Land Degradation and Development 13:275–294.
Rengel, Z. 1992. The role of calcium in salt toxicity.Plant Cell and Environment 15:625–632.
Rivas-Martinez, S. 1981. Les étages bioclimatiques de la végétacion de la Péninsule Ibérique.Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 37:251–268.
Scarton, F., J. W. Day, andA. Rismondo. 1999. Above and belowground production ofPhragmites australis in the Po Delta, Italy.Bolletino del Museo Civico Storia Naturale di Venezia 49:213–222.
Scarton, F., J. W. Day, andA. Rismondo. 2002. Primary production and decomposition ofSarcocornia fruticosa (L.) Scott andPhragmites australis Trin. ex Steudel in the Po Delta, Italy.Estuaries 25:325–336.
Schubauer, J. P. andC. S. Hopkinson. 1984. Above- and belowground emergent macrophyte production and turnover in a coastal marsh ecosystem, Georgia.Limnology and Oceanography 29:1052–1065.
Watanabe, F. S. andS. R. Olsen. 1965. Test of an ascorbic acid method for determining phosphorus in water and NaHCO3 extracts from soil.Soil Science Society of America Procedures 29:677–678.
Weigert, R. G. andF. C. Evans. 1964. Primary production and the disappearance of dead vegetation in an old field in southeastern Michigan.Ecology 45:49–63.
Source of Unpublished Materials
Vila Real de Santo António Meteorological Station. unpublished data Instituto de Meteorologia/Vila Real de Santo António Meteorological Station, www.meteo.pt
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Neves, J.P., Ferreira, L.F., Simões, M.P. et al. Primary production and nutrient content in two salt marsh species,Atriplex portulacoides L. andLimoniastrum monopetalum L., in Southern Portugal. Estuaries and Coasts: J ERF 30, 459–468 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02819392
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02819392