Tetsuya Shimamura

A comparison of sites suitable for the seedling establishment of two co-occurring species, Swintonia glauca and Stemonurus scorpioides, in a tropical peat swamp forest

Spatial and temporal ground-surface dynamics are major factors that affect regeneration and species coexistence in tropical peat swamp forests. We studied the seedling survivorship and morphological features of two tree species that play important roles in maintaining the ground-surface dynamics of a peat swamp forest in Sumatra. Large Swintonia glauca trees form mounds, whereas large Stemonurus scorpioides trees occupy non-mounds. We monitored the demography of naturally dispersed Swintonia and Stemonurus seedlings that germinated in 2000. Survivorship of Swintonia seedlings was high under conditions of late germination, high-light environment, and elevated ground surface, and was negatively affected by distance to the nearest conspecific adult. Survivorship of Stemonurus was high under conditions of early germination and high conspecific seedling density, and was also negatively affected by distance to the nearest conspecific adult. The allometric features of Stemonurus seedlings indicated characteristics of stress tolerance, that is, low growth rate and thick, porous roots. Stemonurus, which has large wingless seeds, regenerated in non-mounds around the parental trees, while winged Swintonia seeds dispersed farther from the parent and established in patchily distributed gaps and mounds. Thus, Swintonia seedlings can survive on non-mound sites within gaps and possibly create mounds, while Stemonurus seedlings tend to maintain non-mounds around the parental trees.

Differences in hydrophyte life forms induce spatial heterogeneity of CH4 production and its carbon isotopic signature in a temperate bog peatland

To clarify the effect of differences in hydrophyte life forms on methane (CH4) production and its carbon stable isotopic signature (δ13C-CH4), we analyzed CH4 and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, their stable carbon isotope values, and chemical constituents dissolved in pore water in a small floating peat bog in Japan. Because eutrophication has modified the surrounding water quality, the bog vegetation on the mat has been, in part, replaced by fen-type vegetation. We hypothesized that differences in hydrophyte habitats affect redox conditions, including dissolved oxygen (DO) in water and therefore the amounts and carbon isotopic values of CH4 and CO2 dissolved in pore water. Between the habitats of two Sphagnum species, DO was considerably higher, and CH4 concentrations were significantly lower in Sphagnum cuspidatum Ehrh. habitats in hollow (DO: 0.62 ± 0.20 mg/L (standard error (SE)) and CH4: 0.18 ± 0.02 mmol/L) than in Sphagnum palustre L. habitats in hummock (DO: 0.29 ± 0.08 and CH4: 0.82 ± 0.06) in pore water (10 cm depth). Both DO and CH4 concentrations in three vascular plant habitats (Rhynchospora fauriei Franch., Phragmites australis [reed], and Menyanthes trifoliata L.) in pore water (10 cm depth) were intermediate relative to the two Sphagnum species. However, CH4 flux in M. trifoliata site was significantly higher than that at both Sphagnum sites, suggesting that the type of gas transport (diffusive or convective via root and stem) affected the depth profile of CH4 concentrations and its flux. δ13C-CH4 values in pore water also varied among the vegetation types, even within Sphagnum species (e.g., at 10 cm depth, δ13C-CH4: R. fauriei, −55.3 ± 1.8‰ (SE); P. australis, −57.5 ± 1.6‰; M. trifoliata, −56.7 ± 1.5‰; S. cuspidatum, −71.2 ± 1.4‰; and S. palustre, −60.4 ± 0.6‰). Our results suggest that significant differences arise in CH4 concentration and δ13C-CH4 values among the hydrophyte habitats even within a small peat bog and that change in vegetation relative to trophic conditions can affect CH4 emissions and associated δ13C-CH4 values.