Regeneration failure of lakeshore plants under an artificially altered water regime

To reveal the effects of artificial alteration of water level regime on the regeneration of lakeshore plants from seeds, we examined the factors causing regeneration failure in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. A survey of microtopography within and around a remnant fragment of lakeshore vegetation revealed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecological research 2004-11, Vol.19 (6), p.613-623
Main Authors: NISHIHIRO, Jun, MIYAWAKI, Shigenari, FUJIWARA, Nobuo, WASHITANI, Izumi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
conservation
Ecology
Flowers & plants
Freshwater
Lake shores
lake water regime
Lakes
Plant reproduction
regeneration from seeds
seedling establishment
Seedlings
Seeds
soil seed bank
Vegetation
Water levels
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Summary:To reveal the effects of artificial alteration of water level regime on the regeneration of lakeshore plants from seeds, we examined the factors causing regeneration failure in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. A survey of microtopography within and around a remnant fragment of lakeshore vegetation revealed that, over a large range, the habitat is frequently inundated in spring under the current water regime, although it was rarely inundated under past water regimes. Analysis of the patterns of seedling emergence and establishment at microsites at various elevations revealed a significant negative correlation between number of inundation days and abundance or species‐richness of seedlings that emerged in the spring. Most seedling deaths occurred when the study site was inundated. We suggest that regeneration failure caused by the artificial raising of the lake's water level is one of the principal mechanisms of the recent vegetational decline in the lake.
ISSN:0912-3814
1440-1703
DOI:10.1111/j.1440-1703.2004.00676.x