Spatio-temporal variation of water salinity in mangroves revealed by continuous monitoring and its relationship to floristic diversity

作者：Wei Wang, Kun Xin, Yujun Chen, Yuechao Chen, Zhongmao Jiang, Nong Sheng, Baowen Liao, Yanmei Xiong · 发表于：Acta Botanica Yunnanica · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.pld.2023.06.006 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics、Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions、Marine and coastal plant biology

Salinity is among the most critical factors limiting the growth and species distribution of coastal plants. Water salinity in estuarine ecosystems varies temporally and spatially, but the variation patterns across different time scales and salinity fluctuation have rarely been quantified. The effects of salinity on floristic diversity in mangroves are not fully understood due to the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of salinity. In this study, we monitored water salinity at an interval of 10-min over one year in three mangrove catchment areas representing the outer part, middle part, and inner part respectively of Dongzhai Bay, Hainan, China. The number of mangrove community types and dominant mangrove species of the three catchment areas were also investigated. We found that the diurnal variation and dry-season intra-month variation in water salinity were driven by tidal cycles. The seasonal variation in water salinity was mainly driven by rainfall with higher salinity occurring in the dry season and lower salinity occurring in the wet season. Spatially, water salinity was highest at the outer part, intermediate at the middle part, and lowest at the inner part of the bay. The intra-month and annual fluctuations of water salinity were highest at the middle part and lowest at the outer part of the bay. The number of mangrove community types and dominant species were lowest at the outer part, intermediate at the middle part, and highest at the inner part of the bay. These resu...