섬진강 하구의 조간대와 조하대에 자생하는 거머리말(Zostera marina)의 탄소와 질소 성분의 계절변화

Abstract

To study the difference in growth characteristics between intertidal and subtidal eelgrass Zostera marina populations, environmental factors and changes in tissue carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents in eelgrass from the lower intertidal and upper subtidal zones were surveyed monthly in the Seomjin Estuary from May 2003 to December 2004. Water temperatures, water column nutrient concentrations, sediment pore water, and ammonium and phosphate concentrations showed no significant differences between intertidal and subtidal zones. Sediment pore water nitrate+nitrite concentrations were slightly higher in the intertidal zone than in the subtidal zone. Average monthly exposure times in the intertidal and subtidal zones were <TEX>$42.4{\pm}5.8h\;month^{-1}$</TEX> and <TEX>$15.3{\pm}3.5h\;month^{-1}$</TEX>, respectively. Eelgrass leaf N content decreased from March to August and increased from September to February in the subtidal zone, whereas these trends were not observed in the intertidal zone. Eelgrass rhizome C content increased from April to September and decreased from October to March in the subtidal zone, whereas those tendencies were not recorded in the intertidal zone. Eelgrass rhizome C:N ratios showed a strong reverse trend to leaf C:N ratios in the subtidal zone, but these tendencies were not observed in the intertidal zone. The effects of exposure appeared to cause no seasonal trend in eelgrass tissue C and N content or C:N ratios in the intertidal zone in the Seomjin Estuary.