Open-File Report 2010-1105
The impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 on wetland vegetation were investigated in Louisiana coastal marshes. Vegetation cover, pore-water salinity, and nutrients data from 100 marsh sites covering the entire Louisiana coast were sampled for two consecutive growing seasons after the storms. A mixed-model nested ANOVA with Tukey’s HSD test for post-ANOVA multiple comparisons was used to analyze the data. Significantly (p<0.05) lower vegetation cover was observed within brackish and fresh marshes in the west as compared to the east and central regions throughout 2006, but considerable increase in vegetation cover was noticed in fall 2007 data. Marshes in the west were stressed by prolonged saltwater logging and increased sulfide content. High salinity levels persisted throughout the study period for all marsh types, especially in the west. The marshes of coastal Louisiana are still recovering after the hurricanes; however, changes in the species composition have increased in these marshes. |
First posted June 11, 2010 For additional information contact: Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. |
Steyer, G.D., Cretini, K.F., Piazza, S., Sharp, L.A., Snedden, G.A., Sapkota, S., 2010, Hurricane influences on vegetation community change in coastal Louisiana: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1105, 21. p.
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Statistical Analyses
Results
Discussion
Summary
References