Is spread of the neophyte Spartina anglica recently enhanced by increasing temperatures?

Autor: Karsten Reise, Martina Loebl, Justus van Beusekom
Rok vydání: 2006
Předmět:
Zdroj: Aquatic Ecology. 40:315-324
ISSN: 1573-5125
1386-2588
DOI: 10.1007/s10452-006-9029-3
Popis: The introduced cordgrass Spartina anglica, a fertile hybrid of S. maritima and S. alterniflora, grows as a pioneer plant in the upper intertidal zone and has invaded most sheltered shorelines of the Wadden Sea. After its introduction in 1927 S. anglica has spread vigorously along the mainland shore and on some of the more southern islands. In contrast, it has later established on Sylt and spread at a lower pace. On the island of Sylt it occurs near at its northern limit in Europe. Due to rising sea level and storm frequency a decrease or steady state of S. anglica was expected because its niche is narrowing rather than widening and plants are more frequently eroded. Contrary to that, many new sites were colonized and dense monotypic swards have formed after 1985. This new spread coincided with a shift in the local temperature regime around 1987. The monthly mean temperature from January to April has increased significantly after 1987. Furthermore, the important physiological thresholds of 4 °C for germination and 7 °C for photosynthesis were more often exceeded during spring after 1987 than before. We suggest that warmer spring seasons since 1988 could have promoted germination, growth and the recent accelerated spread of this neophyte.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: