Habitat evaluation for plant communities at a salt marsh in the Naka River, Shikoku, Japan

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  • KAMADA Mahito
    Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokushima
  • OGURA Yohei
    Graduate School of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokushima

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Other Title
  • 野生生物の生息・生育適地推定と保全計画　　那賀川汽水域における塩性湿地植物群落のハビタット評価
  • 那賀川汽水域における塩性湿地植物群落のハビタット評価
  • ナカガワ キスイイキ ニ オケル エンセイ シッチ ショクブツ グンラク ノ ハビタット ヒョウカ

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Abstract

Salt marsh has become one of the most seriously altered ecosystems, and many species have been threatened in Japan. Developing simple and reasonable methods for predicting and evaluating ecosystem change is required for conserving and restoring wildlife of salt marshes. Physical characteristics of the habitat, in terms of elevation and sediment size, are identified in relation to salt marsh plant communities developed on and around a gravel bar in the Naka River, Shikoku, Japan. Maps of vegetation, elevation and sediment types were made through field surveys with an aid of aerial photographs in 2002 and 2004. Using GIS, the maps were overlaid to evaluate the characteristics of the habitat favored by each plant community and to compare the temporal change. In 2002, salt marsh plant communities, those of Suaeda maritima, Limonium tetragonum, Aster tripolium, Zoysia sinica var. nipponica, Fimbristylis ferruginea var. sieboldii preferably occurred in an area lower than high-tide level. S. maritima community and L. tetragonum community favored the lowest area where the time inundated in salt water is long, while A. tripolium community favored high-tide area. It is considered from the literatures that the distribution pattern was formed through competitive process among plants. All of these plant communities favored gravel area rather than silt or sand areas. Gravel might act as protector for seeds and seedlings against removal by floods. The vegetation pattern represents a condition recovered from the large-scale flooding occurred in 1998. In 2004, almost all areas along main channel were severely eroded and plant communities were disappeared due to large-scale floods, while salt marsh plant communities distributed on an interior side of the bar, so-called “Wando”, were remained. Wando as a topographical unit has an important function as the refuge for salt marsh plants.

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