Effects of nutrients and water levels on emergent macrophyte biomass in a prairie marsh

Abstract

Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers were added over two growing seasons to marshes dominated by whitetop grass (Scolochloa festucacea) or cattail (Typha glauca) in a prairie lacustrine marsh to assess nutrient limitation and the interaction of nutrient limitation with water depth. For each species, stands were selected at the deep and shallow extremes of its water depth range. Water levels were high during the first year of fertilization and low during the second year, exposing the fertilized stands to a variety of water depths. Nitrogen limited growth in whitetop and cattail marshes. Water level, by controlling whether the soil was flooded or the water table was below the soil surface, affected growth and the degree of nitrogen limitation. In whitetop marshes, nitrogen increased biomass more when the soil was flooded or when standing water was deeper and in cattail marshes, it increased biomass more under intermediate water depths (approximately 0–20 cm) than under more deeply flooded (20–40 cm) or dry conditions. Nitrogen reduced biomass in whitetop marshes the second year, apparently because growth was inhibited by fallen litter from the previous year. Nitrogen did not limit cattail marsh biomass in the driest locations during a year of low water levels. Phosphorus caused a small increase in growth of both species after 2 years. Changes of nitrogen limitation with flooding suggest that annual water level fluctuations, by creating alternating flooded and dry conditions, may influence the primary production of emergent macrophytes through effects on nitrogen cycling.