Effects of sedge and cottongrass tussocks on plant establishment patterns in a post-mined peatland, northern Japan

Abstract

Facilitation (positive inter-specific interaction) plays an important role in promoting succession in harsh environments. To examine whether tussocks facilitate the establishment of other species, after peat mining, investigations were carried out in a formerly Sphagnum-dominated wetland (Sarobetsu mire, northern Japan). Two tussock-forming species, Carex middendorffii and Eriophorum vaginatum, have established in sparsely vegetated areas, with a dry ground surface, since peat extraction ended. The following factors were examined, in three microhabitats created by tussocks (center = raised tussock center, edge = tussock edge covered with litter, and flat = flat areas without tussocks): (1) relationships between tussock microhabitats and plant distributions, and (2) the effects of tussocks on survival, growth, flowering and seed immigration of common species. Two (1 × 10 m) plots were established, in each of three sparsely vegetated sites, in September 2005. Tussocks were mapped in each plot, and species, location, flowering, growth stage (seedling, juvenile and fertile) and size of all plants were recorded, during snow-free periods from September 2005 to September 2006. Seed traps were used to investigate seed dispersal from June to October 2006. Four native species, Drosera rotundifolia, Lobelia sessilifolia, Moliniopsis japonica, Solidago virgaurea, and an exotic species, Hypochaeris radicata, were most common. During seedling and juvenile stages, these species were distributed more densely at the tussock edge than in the flat areas, but were less common at the center. H. radicata had a higher survival rate at the edge than in the flat during the winter. The annual growth of H. radicata, L. sessilifolia and S. virgaurea was higher at the edge. Seed traps detected that D. rotundifolia seeds accumulate more at the edge. In conclusion, tussocks facilitated plant establishment in the edge microhabitat by providing litter cover, enhancing seed accumulation, germination and survival, and thus promoted revegetation. However, Sphagnum mosses have not established in the study sites, and the vegetation differs strongly from the areas where no peat mining had taken place.