Adaptations of marsh plants Introduction

Marshes are permanently or periodically covered with nutrient-rich water. Marshes are characterized by emergent vegetation that is adapted to saturated soils and by submerged vegetation that lives at deeper depths. Plants living in marshes are exposed to three environmental stresses: (1) they are frequently covered by water so they must be able to cope with low oxygen content, (2) they are often exposed to the atmosphereso they can be exposed to factors such terrestrial herbivores and fire, and (3) they are sometimes exposed to the effects of wave action or water movement. Thus, these factors have selected for the herbaceous plants with well developed root systems (that provide anchorage and storage). Salt marshes are found in estuarineareas with high (and fluctuating) salt content. Thus, salt marsh plants must have adaptations for dealing with high salt content in the water that surrounds them, a fourth type of stress.

Low soil oxygen content

Wetland soils have been affected by the permanent cover of water. One problem faced by plants living in marshes is the lack of oxygen in the soil.Oxygen is used by plants (and most other organisms) in the process of cellular respiration in which the energy from glucose (produced byphotosynthesis) is released so that the organisms can use the energy to do biological work. When glucose is broken down in the presence of oxygen, aerobic respiration occurs and the organisms are able to use a great deal of the stored energy in the glucose. In situations where oxygen is lacking, glucose is broken down by the process of anaerobic respiration which does not release as much energy from each molecule of glucose (aerobic respiration releases about 18 times more energy than anaearobic respiration). Not only is anaerobic much less energy efficient than aerobic respiration, but by products of anaerobic respiration, are toxic. Plants lack a circulatory system, so plants are not able to pump oxygen from air (where the oxygen concentration is about 21%) below ground to the roots. Thus, the roots of terrestrial plants rely on oxygen in air spaces between soil particles. Oxygen is hard to get in hydrated soils for two reasons. First, water fills the space between soil particles that are typically filled with air in terrestrial soils. Second, because the rate of diffusion of oxygen is much slower in water than in air the rate of movement from the water surface to the root zone is extremely slow, so most hydric soils are either low in oxygen (hypoxic) or lack oxygen (anoxic) because the oxygen in the water in the soil is used up, often by the activity of decomposers (bacteria). So how do the roots of marsh plants get the oxygen that they need to survive? Marsh plants have evolved air spaces ("aerenchyma tissue") in their stems that allow oxygen to move from the leaves (where oxygen is produced in the process of photosynthesis) to the roots by either diffusion or in some cases, by pressuredifferences between the leaves and the roots. Other marsh plants are able to survive in low oxygen conditions by relying on anaerobic respiration. These species apparently have altered their biochemical pathways to allow them to avoid the build-up of high concentrations of toxic ethanol (a waste product of anaerobic respiration).

Herbivory
Because of the high availability of light, water, and nutrients, marshes are among the most productiveecosystems on earth (i.e., a lot of sugar is produced by the process of photosynthesis). The production of biomass in wetland systems can be over three times higher than in a terrestrial ecosystem. Because biomass production in marsh ecosystems, there is high there is a lot of potential food for herbivores.However, most emergent macrophytes are of low food quality because they have a relatively high content of structural carbon relative to the amount of nitrogen and

phosphorus they contain. Thus, a relatively large percentage of the plant biomass is not eaten and when the plants die they become detritus, and enter into detritus-based food webs.

Fire
Some marshes become dry enough seasonally or during drought periods that they are potentially burned by fire. The extensive root system of most emergent marsh vegetation allows them to resprout following a fire.

Salinity
Plants living in salt marshes are exposed to high salinity environments. Plants adapted to living in saline environments are known as halophytes ("salt lovers"). Halophytes have evolved physiological, structural, and biochemical means of dealing with a saline environment. Some halophytes are able to secrete salt through salt glands, whereas other plants have mechanisms for dealing with higher cellular concentrations of salt, or can reduce of the uptake of salt through their roots.
Ecology of plant carnivory THE PLANT KINGDOM HOSTS A VARIETY OF PARTICULARLY ADAPTED SPECIES, each with unique responses to the stresses of its habitat. For example, wetland plants growing in standing water can pump oxygen from the atmosphere down to feed their air-starved roots. Epiphytes (aerial plants living in forest canopies with no root system) gather rainfall in cupped leaves and extract nutrients from falling leaves, rainwater, and their host plants. Within the world of unique plant adaptations, one of the most intriguing is carnivory. Carnivorous plants have fascinated researchers and the general public since the time that Charles Darwin first described their behavior in 1875 (Darwin, C. 1908. Insectivorous plants. Revised by Francis Darwin. John Murray, London, UK). Those who have seen the original movie version of the Little Shop of Horrors starring Jack Nicholson, or the musical version with Rick Moranis, can appreciate the human fascination with the macabre associated with carnivorous plants. Carnivorous plants inhabit extremely low-nutrient ecosystems. Metabolic growth in these plants is hypothesized to be limited primarily by low concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. Consequently, carnivorous plants consume insects, spiders, and small amphibians to gain nutrients necessary for growth and reproduction. With more than 600 species in 12 genera, carnivorous plants have evolved a variety of clever trapping mechanisms. Prey may fall or be sucked into pools of digestive enzymes, stick to droplets of goo, get snapped by fast-moving leaves, or be forced toward a digestive organ by inward-pointing hairs. These adaptations have allowed carnivorous plants to colonize and thrive in nutrient-poor ecosystems throughout the world. The most common style of plant carnivory in North America is practiced by the pitcher plant. The leaves of these plants are modified into pitchers or hollow cups with a closed bottom, facilitating the collection of rainwater and potential prey. The pitcher structure acts as a passive form of carnivory, luring insects into a trap designed to capture them within the pitcher structure. The lip of each pitcher contains sweet-smelling nectaries that attract insects, which then land on the slippery plant leaf, fall into the pitcher and are prevented from climbing out by downward-facing hairs on the inside pitcher wall. In some pitcher plant species, the plants secrete digestive juices to break down prey; in others a suite of bacteria and microorganisms in the fluid digests prey and releases nutrients available for plant uptake. The plant absorbs the nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, through the leaf wall, and transports them throughout the plant to where they are most needed. Another interesting adaptation of the pitcher plant is its ability to modify leaves depending on the availability of nutrients. When nutrients are high, pitcher leaves are altered to perform more photosynthesis; when nutrients are low, pitcher leaves increase their carnivorous effort.

See other photo

(Return to the main article on genetics of the northern pitcher plant.)

Return to top

This page updated: 2 November 2009 URL: http://www.nature.nps.gov/ParkScience/index.cfm?ArticleID=324&Page=1

Tubelike modified leaves trap prey through backward-pointed hairs that prevent escape. Digestion of prey occurs through bacterial enzymes and enzymes secreted by the plant to extract nutrients needed for plant growth.
NPS/JOY MARBURGER

Despite its colorful and showy flowers, the northern pitcher plant may rely on asexual reproduction for a large part of its reproductive effort, according to molecular genetics. Pollen and seed dispersal between populations can often be limited by the plants isolated habitat. Lack of sexual reproduction further segregates the species and can possibly reduce genetic diversity in the population and increase genetic differences between isolated populations.
NPS/JOY MARBURGER