Spore Bank of a Delaware River Freshwater Tidal Wetland

Abstract

The composition of the spores in the soil of a Delaware River freshwater tidal wetland were determined from samples from 3 sites (high marsh, cattail, and shrub forest) and 4 depths (rain, 0-2 cm, 4-6, and 8-10 cm) maintained in a greenhouse for 2 growing seasons. The spore bank contained 14 mosses, 2 liverworts, 7 ferns, and 1 horsetail. There were significant site, depth, and site-depth interactions for bryophyte cover and species and for total fern and Onoclea sensibilis densities. No one site was consistently ranked highest. However, more species, greater densities, or % cover occurred in surface (0-2 cm) samples. Bryum sp. and Onoclea sensibilis were the most common bryophyte and fern species. Slow germination of spores and/or growth required that samples be monitored for longer periods than for comparable seed bank studies, and may be responsible for the lack of these species on the tidal surfaces from which the soil samples were obtained.