www.ebook777.com The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands www.ebook777.com THE BIOLOGY OF HABITATS SERIES This attractive series of concise, affordable texts provides an integrated overview of the design, physiology, and ecology of the biota in a given habitat, set in the context of the physical environment Each book describes practical aspects of working within the habitat, detailing the sorts of studies which are possible Management and conservation issues are also included The series is intended for naturalists, students studying biological or environmental science, those beginning independent research, and professional biologists embarking on research in a new habitat The Biology of Streams and Rivers Paul S Giller and Björn Malmqvist The Biology of Soft Shores and Estuaries Colin Little The Biology of the Deep Ocean Peter Herring The Biology of Lakes and Ponds, 2nd Edition Christer Brönmark and Lars-Anders Hansson The Biology of Soil Richard D Bardgett The Biology of Peatlands Håkan Rydin and John K Jeglum The Biology of Mangroves and Seagrasses, 2nd Edition Peter J Hogarth The Biology of African Savannahs Bryan Shorrocks The Biology of Polar Regions, 2nd Edition David N Thomas et al The Biology of Deserts David Ward The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean Habitats David C Culver and Tanja Pipan The Biology of Alpine Habitats Laszlo Nagy and Georg Grabherr The Biology of Rocky Shores, 2nd Edition Colin Little, Gray A Williams and Cynthia D Trowbridge The Biology of Coral Reefs Charles R.C Sheppard, Simon K Davy, and Graham M Pilling The Biology of Disturbed Habitats Lawrence R Walker The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands, 2nd Edition Arnold G van der Valk www.ebook777.com The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands SECOND EDITION Arnold G van der Valk www.ebook777.com Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Arnold G van der Valk 2012 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First edition 2006 Second edition published 2012 All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2011943534 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY ISBN 978–0–19–960894–2 (Hbk) 978–0–19–960895–9 (Pbk) 10 www.ebook777.com Contents Preface to the second edition Preface to the first edition Abbreviations Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 What is a wetland? Wetland classification Wetland inventories Summary Practical experiments and observations 1.5.1 Wetland classification ix xi xiv 1 11 11 12 Water and Soil 13 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Physical and chemical properties of water Wetland hydrology Secondary gradients Hydric soils 2.4.1 Soil genesis 2.5 Summary 2.6 Practical experiments and observations 2.6.1 Water levels 2.6.2 Water chemistry 2.6.3 Temperature and oxygen gradients 2.6.4 Redox 2.6.5 Hydric soils 14 22 31 33 33 41 42 42 43 43 43 44 Microorganisms and Invertebrates 45 3.1 Microorganisms 3.1.1 Bacteria 3.1.2 Fungi 3.1.3 Algae 3.2 Invertebrates 3.2.1 Aquatic insects 46 47 49 51 55 56 www.ebook777.com vi CONTENTS 3.3 Summary 3.4 Practical experiments and observations 3.4.1 Wetland algae 3.4.2 Wetland invertebrates 65 65 65 66 Wetland Plants and Animals 69 4.1 Wetland plants 4.1.1 Internal gas-space continuum 4.1.2 Heterophylly 4.1.3 Clonal growth 4.2 Birds 4.3 Fish 4.4 Amphibians, reptiles, and mammals 4.5 Summary 4.6 Practical experiments and observations 4.6.1 Macrophyte adaptations 4.6.2 Seed banks 4.6.3 Wetland birds 4.6.4 Wetland fish 71 77 84 87 89 94 98 103 103 103 104 105 105 Spatial and Temporal Patterns 106 5.1 Coenoclines 5.2 Spatial patterns 5.2.1 Coenocline development 5.2.2 Fire 5.3 Temporal patterns 5.3.1 Macro-succession 5.3.2 Micro-succession 5.3.3 Micro-succession versus fluctuations 5.4 Development of wetland landscapes 5.5 Summary 5.6 Practical experiments and observations 5.6.1 Gradient analysis 5.6.2 Sediment cores 106 110 113 119 119 119 122 126 128 131 133 133 134 Wetland Functions 135 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 136 145 153 159 160 Primary production Food webs Litter decomposition Nutrient cycling 6.4.1 The carbon cycle www.ebook777.com CONTENTS vii 6.4.2 Nitrogen and sulfur cycling 6.4.3 Phosphorus cycling 6.5 Summary 6.6 Practical experiments and observations 6.6.1 Primary production 6.6.2 Invertebrates and litter decomposition 6.6.3 Methane production 165 167 169 170 170 170 171 Invasive Species 173 7.1 What makes a species invasive? 7.1.1 Landscape sink or disturbance hypothesis 7.2 Superior competitor hypothesis 7.2.1 Enemy release 7.2.2 Broader tolerance 7.2.3 Efficient use 7.2.4 Hybrid vigor 7.2.5 Allelopathy 7.2.6 Empty niche 7.2.7 Invasive animal species 7.3 What effect exotic species have on wetlands? 7.4 What should be done to control invasive species? 7.5 Summary 7.6 Practical observations 175 175 177 177 178 179 180 181 181 182 186 189 192 193 Restoration and Creation 194 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 194 199 201 202 203 205 206 206 207 209 211 211 212 212 214 216 216 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Definitions Restoration and succession Environmental restoration Biological restoration 8.4.1 Plant materials 8.4.2 Invasive species 8.4.3 Suitable establishment conditions Restoration planning 8.5.1 Project goals 8.5.2 Site selection and evaluation 8.5.3 Restoration plan 8.5.4 Implementation 8.5.5 Monitoring 8.5.6 Project evaluation and management How successful are wetland restorations? Post-project management Summary www.ebook777.com viii CONTENTS Global Climate Change 9.1 Wetlands and the global carbon budget 9.2 Impacts of climate change 9.2.1 Species composition 9.2.2 Migration and extinction 9.3 Indirect effects 9.3.1 Prairie potholes 9.3.2 Louisiana coastal mashes 9.4 Summary 9.5 Practical experiments and observations 10 218 219 224 225 227 228 231 232 239 240 The Value and Future of Wetlands 241 10.1 Functions, services, and values 10.2 Protection and conservation 10.3 Future of wetlands 243 249 253 Glossary Bibliography Index 255 259 275 www.ebook777.com Preface to the second edition In the six years since the first edition of this book was written, our knowledge of the ecology of wetlands has increased significantly: you could even say without too much hyperbole, immensely While I was writing the first edition, my model for an ideal introduction to freshwater wetlands was John Etherington’s 1983 classic, Wetland Ecology Anyone familiar with Etherington’s book will immediately recognize that its organization is similar to that of this book (Etherington’s book covered peatlands, which are not covered in any detail in this book Hence, there is no counterpart to his chapter on peat There is an excellent companion book in this series, The Biology of Peatlands, by Hakan Rydin and John Jeglum (2006).) In a little over 60 pages, Etherington managed to capture the essence of wetland ecology better than the much lengthier books that followed Even though I strove to keep my book as short as possible, the first edition (2006) was still over 170 pages long This was largely a reflection of how much the field had grown in the 23 years since Etherington’s book had been published Because so much has happened in wetland ecology in the last six years, the second edition of this book has grown significantly The amount of shelf space in my office that holds wetland books has doubled in the last six years There are not only more books being published on wetlands than ever before, but also much larger books Three recent and important tomes that weigh down my shelf are: Maltby and Barker’s (2009) The Wetland Handbook (1068 pages), Kadlec and Wallace’s (2009) Treatment Wetlands, Second Edition (1016 pages), and Reddy and DeLaune’s (2008) Biogeochemistry of Wetlands (a modest 774 pages) Needless to say, keeping up with the literature is not getting any easier, but I have tried I have also tried to continue to emphasize fundamental concepts and to provide a balanced overview of freshwater wetland ecology This means that I have striven to overemphasize some topics at the expense of others In other words, the coverage of topics in the second, as in the first edition, does not reflect the size of the literature on a topic What’s new? The first six chapters in the first edition have all been revised and updated Four new chapters have replaced the first edition’s Chapter 7: Invasive Species; Restoration and Creation; Global Climate Change; and the Value and Future of Wetlands All these topics were covered in the first edition, but superficially All of these new chapters deal, one way or another, www.ebook777.com ... habitat The Biology of Streams and Rivers Paul S Giller and Björn Malmqvist The Biology of Soft Shores and Estuaries Colin Little The Biology of the Deep Ocean Peter Herring The Biology of Lakes... J Hogarth The Biology of African Savannahs Bryan Shorrocks The Biology of Polar Regions, 2nd Edition David N Thomas et al The Biology of Deserts David Ward The Biology of Caves and Other Subterranean... Graham M Pilling The Biology of Disturbed Habitats Lawrence R Walker The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands, 2nd Edition Arnold G van der Valk www.ebook777.com The Biology of Freshwater Wetlands SECOND