Vegetation and primary production in a floating freshwater marsh in Louisiana

Abstract

The freshwater floating marsh surrounding Lake Boeuf, LA, is a diverse plant community dominated by Panicum hemitomon Schult. (maidencane), with the ferns Thelypteris palustris Schott. and Osmunda regalis L. and the perennial vines Vigna luteola (Jacq.) Benth. and Polygonum sagittatum L. Using the method of Lomnicki et al., we determined net aboveground primary production to be ∼ 1960 g m −2y −1 dry weight. The turnover rate, based on the mean longevity of tagged maidencane culms, was 1.21 crops per year.