Above- and belowground impacts of Spartina patens invasion in mediterranean salt marshes: Ecological insights and management priorities.
Sapiña-Solano A, Silvestre-Bautista M, Lidón A, Boscaiu M, Vicente O
Invasive Species
The coastal wetlands near your local beach quietly buffer your neighborhood from storm floods and filter the water that fish and shellfish need — an invasive grass is dismantling those protections one marsh at a time by erasing the native plant communities that hold the system together.
Researchers in Spain found that saltmeadow cordgrass is aggressively taking over protected coastal wetlands by forming thick, suffocating mats that push out the native plants that belong there. What makes this grass so hard to beat is that it's unusually good at partnering with helpful underground fungi that funnel extra nutrients to its roots, giving it a strength advantage native grasses can't match. The invasion starts at the edges of marshes before spreading inward, which tells managers exactly where to focus removal efforts before it's too late.
Key Findings
Saltmeadow cordgrass formed dense, dominant stands across five salt marshes that simplified habitat structure and displaced endemic native species, significantly reducing plant diversity.
The invasive grass supported greater arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi richness in its roots than native grasses, likely boosting nutrient uptake and stress tolerance to give it a competitive edge.
Invasion follows a two-phase pattern — initial colonization along marsh edges before vegetative spread inward — identifying boundary zones as the highest-priority targets for early detection and control.
chevron_right Technical Summary
An invasive grass called saltmeadow cordgrass is taking over coastal salt marshes in Spain by crowding out native plants and forging unusually strong partnerships with soil fungi that supercharge its growth. The study reveals a predictable two-phase invasion pattern, giving land managers a clear window for early action.
Abstract Preview
Biological invasions in coastal ecosystems can cause cascading impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and restoration success. This study investigates the invasion dynamics of Spartina pat...
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Sporobolus pumilus, the saltmeadow cordgrass, also known as salt hay, is a species of cordgrass native to the Atlantic coast of the Americas, from Newfoundland south along the eastern United States to the Caribbean and north-eastern Mexico. It was reclassified after a taxonomic revision in 2014, ...