MARSH PLANTS AS VECTORS IN TRACE METAL TRANSPORT IN OREGON TIDAL MARSHES

Abstract

The role of Pacific coast marsh plants as vectors in the flux of trace metals was studied in natural and perturbated situations. The flux of Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Sr, and Zn were studied in natural stands of Carex lyngbyei, Distichlis spicata, Potentilla pacifica, and Salicornia virginica. Seasonal fluxes of trace metals into the shoots of the living plants were measured as was their transfer to the dead plant community through mortality. Disappearance from the latter community (through fragmentation, leaching and excretion) was calculated. Seasonal data were summed to produce annual input‐output budgets. The flux varied from 3 mg/m2 for Cr in a stand of Potentilla pacifica to 15,000 mg/m2 for Fe in Carex lyngbyei.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1980
Source ID
10.1002/j.1537-2197.1980.tb07739.x

Entities

People

  • Harold V. Kibby
  • John L. Gallagher

Organizations

  • National Science Foundation
  • United States Army
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology