Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31761951›Full record

ArticleAnnals of botany2020

Wave effects on seedling establishment of three pioneer marsh species: survival, morphology and biomechanics.

Haobing Cao, Zhenchang Zhu, Rebecca James, Peter M J Herman, Liquan Zhang, Lin Yuan, Tjeerd J Bouma

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of botany, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Recommendations for the development of erosion-resistant tidal marshes to enhance nature-based flood risk mitigation.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Haobing CaoState Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Zhenchang ZhuNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands.
Rebecca JamesNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands.
Peter M J HermanHydraulic Engineering Department, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Liquan ZhangState Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Lin YuanState Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Tjeerd J BoumaNIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, and Utrecht University, Yerseke, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsIt is important to have an in-depth mechanistic understanding of tidal marsh establishment and dynamics to ensure the long-term persistence of these valuable ecosystems. As wave forcing may be expected to impact seedling establishment, we studied the effect of water-imposed drag forces on seedling survival, morphology and biomechanical properties of three marsh pioneer species that are dominant along the salinity gradient in many areas around the world: Spartina anglica (salt to brackish), Scirpus maritimus (brackish) and Phragmites australis (brackish to fresh).

methodsUsing a newly developed plant-shaking mesocosm (PSM) that mimicked water-imposed wave drag forces, the effect of wave stress on seedling survival was examined, together with impacts on morphology and biomechanical properties. KEY

resultsAfter 7 weeks of exposure to wave stress, lowered seedling survival and growth for all species was revealed. Wave treatments increased the root/shoot biomass ratio to enhance anchorage and made seedlings more flexible (i.e. reduced flexural rigidity), which might be regarded as a mixed outcome between a stress avoidance and stress tolerance strategy.

conclusionsThe different biomechanical responses between the three dominant marsh pioneer species, overall, make them less resistant to external stress. Therefore, our results indicate that the likelihood of marshes becoming established is reduced if wave energy increases. Despite the different biomechanical response of these three pioneer species to waves, the seedlings of all species were found to have low resistance to external stresses.

Indexed as

SeedlingsWetlandsEcosystemPoaceaeSalinitybiomechanical responseestablishmentPhragmites australisScirpus maritimusseedlingSpartina anglicaTidal marsheswave effects

Identifiers

PMID31761951
PMCPMC6996041

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.