A Four Year Analysis of Vegetation Following an Oil Spill in a Freshwater Marsh

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Abstract
Total plant cover, total number of species, mean number of species per quadrat and the Shannon Wiener function progressively reduced in both high and mid-marsh zones for 2 yr after the spillage. Acer rubrum, Bidens cernua, B. connata, B. frondosa, Echinochloa walteri, Eleocharis obtusa, Galium tinctorium, Hypericum mutilum, H. virginicum, Iris versicolor, Lycopus uniflorus, Mimulus ringens, Polygonum punctatum, P. sagittatum, Sparganium americanum, Spirodela polyrhiza, Vallisneria americana and Verbena hastata found before the spill were not found the following season. Perennial species were less affected than annual species immediately following the oil spill. Some species, e.g. Dulichium arundinaceum and Eleocharis palustris, declined in abundance the 2nd season following the spill. Marked changes in relative abundance of the dominant species of high and mid-marsh zones occurred from year to year, with Onoclea sensibilis more prominent in high marsh at the end of the study period than prior to the spill and Pontederia cordata and Nuphar variegatum more prominent in different segments of mid-marsh. The vegetation of the high marsh and mid-marsh zones had substantially recovered by the 3rd and 4th yr. The low marsh vegetation was unaffected immediately following the oil spillage but in succeeding years the species diversity declined and luxuriant growth of Elodea nuttallii, Potamogeton crispus and P. epihydrus occurred. The results are discussed in relation to the effects of oil spillage on saltmarsh vegetation.

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