Abstract
(1) The relationship between above-ground biomass of Spartina alterniflora and sediment oxidation status (Eh), available ammonium concentration and interstitial salinity was investigated at twenty-one sites in a New England salt marsh. Sediment Eh gave the best prediction of above-ground biomass. The relationship between sediment oxidation and above-ground production existed between years and marshes. (2) Measurements in nitrogen-fertilized areas indicate that increasing plant production leads to more oxidized sediments. (3) Sediment oxidation in vegetated sediments occurs via air entry, which was found to cause a rapid and significant rise in sediment oxidation potential. Air enters the sediment in response to water removal from the sediment by evapotranspiration in short grass zones and evapotranspiration and drainage on creek banks. (4) The available data on the environmental controls of Spartina growth are used to construct a model consisting of a variety of feedbacks between plant production, available nitrogen, interstitial salinity and sediment oxidation state mediated primarily through the rates and pathways of interstitial water exchange.
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