Abstract
AbstractFlood-pulsing is a key environmental factor that structures biotic communities in large-order river systems, but we focused our study on the effects of flood-pulsing in headwater systems. We used 10 mesocosm wetlands (10 m × 20 m) to test 2 treatments: a flood-pulse regimen in which natural flood events caused water levels to fluctuate and a static regimen in which water levels remained artificially stable. Abiotic characteristics, plants, and aquatic invertebrate communities were monitored from 2002 through 2005 in permanent pools, nonflooded banks in static wetlands, and intermittently flooded banks in flood-pulse wetlands. The flood-pulse treatment had minimal effects on environmental conditions of permanent pools, and submersed plant and aquatic invertebrate communities in permanent pools were similar in both treatments. This result suggested that resource subsidies from the floodplain to the pools were minimal. However, flood-pulsing caused observable changes to plant communities in the inter...
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the North American Benthological Society
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
