Zonation of emergent freshwater macrophytes: Responses to small-scale variation in water depth

Abstract

Abstract Plant responses to hydrology are central to understanding the structure of wetland plant communities and to informing restoration efforts. The objectives of this study were to examine ecological responses of emergent plant species to water depth in a freshwater wetland in south-central New York (USA) and to test growth responses and associated nutrient relations for emergent species exposed to controlled water depths without interspecific competition in a greenhouse experiment. Field observations quantified the distribution of wetland plants in relation to water depth at Harpur Pond in the Binghamton University Nature Preserve. Presence or absence of plant species was noted in 0.25-m2 quadrats, along 11 transects extending from the upland limit of emergents to their greatest depth in the pond. Ten of the 12 most frequent taxa showed significantly nonrandom distributions (P 0.2 m above the median water level, ...