1995/12/01 by Mary Allessio Leck, Robert E. Simpson · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics #Plant Parasitism and Resistance #Rangeland and Wildlife Management #Seedling #Biology #Germination #Marsh #Vegetation (pathology) #Impatiens #Perennial plant #Old field #Cuscuta #Propagule #Ecology #Seed predation #Seed dispersal #Botany #Wetland #Biological dispersal
paper · doi:10.2307/2446183
openalex publication_date 1995/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
A decade-long examination was made of recruitment and establishment in a tidal freshwater high marsh along the Delaware River. Over the 10 yr of the study, seed bank, field seedlings, and vegetation showed variable patterns and significant year-to-year fluctuations. Patterns of each species were unique, perhaps the result of specific germination and/or establishment requirements and seedling morphology. For a given species there was little correlation among seed bank, seedling, and vegetation patterns, and germination success did not guarantee establishment. Species diversity showed significant year-to-year fluctuation, but there was no trend, and perennials did not change in importance during the 10-yr period. Because four annual species (Bidens laevis, Cuscuta gronovii, Impatiens capensis, and Polygonum arifolium) composed over 90% of the seed bank and field seedlings, and 58-89% ( = 70 ± 4) of the cover, community dynamics were dependent on seedling recruitment. For a given species life history stages (seed bank, field seedlings, and vegetation) were not predictable over the temporal scale of a decade. It is predicted, however, that if hydrology remains unchanged, the same suite of species will persist. The importance of the parasite Cuscuta gronovii is noteworthy.