INVESTIGADORES
RIBEIRO Pablo Damian
artículos
Título:
Aerial and detritus production of the cordgrass Spartina densiflora in a southwestern Atlantic salt marsh
Autor/es:
FEDERICO VERA; JORGE L.C. GUTIÉRREZ; PABLO D. RIBEIRO
Revista:
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
Editorial:
National Research Council Research Press
Referencias:
Lugar: Ottawa, Canada; Año: 2009 vol. 87 p. 482 - 491
ISSN:
0008-4026
Resumen:
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We used a nondestructive method to
estimate aerial and detritus productivity of the cordgrass Spartina
densiflora Brongn. and evaluated the relative contribution of newly
emerged and preexisting tillers to net aerial biomass and detritus
production, the relative contribution of tiller detachment and leaf
shedding to detritus production, and the incidence of crab (Neohelice
(Chasmagnathus) granulata (Dana, 1851)), herbivory in relation to
tiller age and its implications for tiller survival. Estimates of
aerial and detritus productivity varied between 706.72 (SD = 153.38)
and 786.15 (SD = 162.75) g·m2·year1 and between 1054.23 (SD =
224.49) and 1223.17 (SD = 246.84) g·m2·year1, respectively.
These estimates of aerial production are far below the higher
productivity estimates known for species of the genus Spartina but
within the range of values obtained with nondestructive methods
(i.e., 3001500 g·m2·year1). Detachment of standing-dead
tillers and leaf shedding contributed virtually in equal quantities
to detritus production (i.e., 52% and 48% of the total detritus
biomass, respectively). On the other hand, net aerial biomass
production was highly dependent on tiller recruitment, with 67% of
total biomass production contributed by the growth of tillers that
emerged during the course of the study. However, crabs seem to graze
on tillers irrespective of their age. Such nonselective crab grazing
on tillers of different age together with the long tiller survival
after crab grazing (often more than a year) suggests that crabs do
not ostensibly affect S. densiflora production