THE EFFECTS OF NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT ON SOIL MICROBIAL PROCESSES IN MANGROVES
N.J.Oehm, D.L. Childers, S.E Davis
FIU, Miami, FL 33199
J. Day, B.Perez, E.Reyes, and M.Sutula
LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
D. Rudnick and F. Sklar
SFWMD, West Palm Beach, FL 33170
ABSTRACT
Mangrove wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world and have been the subject of nutrient cycling studies for their commercial and ecological importance. This study takes place in the mangroves found in the Taylor Slough area of Everglades National Park, USA. The Everglades is a highly oligotrophic, carbonate-based system and recent work has demonstrated a phosphorus limitation in both the southeastern Everglades mangroves and the freshwater microbial community. We examine the effects of nutrient enrichment on carbon fluxes in the mangrove soils found along the salinity gradient of Taylor Slough. Triplicate soil cores are collected quarterly from creekside and inland sites at each of three locations and slurried for nutrient enrichment incubations in a nitrogen-phosphorus factorial treatment. All fluxes are calculated using carbon dioxide, methane and sulfide production and are normalized for differences in soil and water chemistry. We present preliminary results from the first year of this study and discuss the differences in carbon flux between creekside and inland sites.
