Differential effects of wildfire on salt marsh and coastal forest plant community abundance and diversity in the urbanized Long Island Sound

Abstract

Coastal marshes are dynamic ecosystems that provide essential ecosystem services and are impacted by a variety of natural and anthropogenic disturbances including flooding, fire, climate change, and urbanization. Coastal saltmarshes are sometimes managed through prescribed burning to enhance habitat value for wildlife and increase plant diversity, but this practice is uncommon in urbanized environments and the effects are unclear. In this study, we observed the effects of a 2017 wildfire on a Spartina saltmarsh and oak-hickory coastal forest over three years on Long Island Sound, New York. The objectives were to determine the impact of the fire on plant abundance, diversity, and invasive species. We studied the marshland and nearby coastal forest. It was concluded that the marsh habitat was more resilient than the forested habitat as its plant composition, abundance and diversity returned to that of the unburned marsh two years post fire. The wildfire caused large shifts in community composition, increasing abundance and diversity in the burned forest relative to the unburned forest, but it also facilitated an increase in non-native species. Because these systems provide countless ecosystem services, further research on the effect of wildfire and interactions with other disturbances is needed.