Analyses of fossil seeds and pollen grains preserved in seven sediment cores and borings were combined with historical land-use records to reconstruct an 1800-yr history of Otter Point Creek (OPC), a freshwater tidal deltaic wetland in the upper Chesapeake Bay. The objectives of the study were to document the role of natural and anthropogenic disturbance on habitat development at different sites within the wetland. Fossil seeds revealed a 1500-yr period (AD 230 to 1700) of subtidal habitat stability characterized by the aquatic macrophytes Zannichellia palustris, Najas gracillima, N guadalupensis, Elodea canadensis and Vallisneria americana. Natural disturbance had little or no impact on the estuarine habitat during this time. By the early 1700s, forest clearance for agriculture and lumber during European settlement led to higher erosion rates in the watershed. This led to rapid sediment efflux and broad habitat changes along a hydrologic gradient within the estuary. The aquatic macrophytes disappeared when estuarine sedimentation rates increased from a pre-1700 mean of 0.05 cm/yr to 0.60 cm/yr after 1730-1750. As the estuary continued to fill behind a prograding delta from AD 1750 to 1950, sub-tidal species were replaced sequentially by increasingly less flood-tolerant dominants of low marsh (Zizania aquatica), middle marsh (Typha angustifolia or Leersia oryzoides), high marsh (Acorus calamus), shrub marsh (Typha latifolia and Salix nigra) and riparian forest (Acer negundo, Fraxinus pennsylvanica and Betula nigra). Habitat change progressed in pulses followed by periods of habitat stasis. The most rapid and extensive period of change occurred between 1840 and 1880, synchronous with the period of highest sedimentation rates, mid-century storms and intensive land use in the watershed. The rate and pattern of community change differed among sites where position relative to the watershed, local disturbance, and channel shifts at or adjacent to the site influenced different community pathways. A conceptual model is proposed to describe the spatial and temporal development of eastern US freshwater tidal wetland habitats, reflecting the importance of the impact of colonial deforestation.
Allen, J.R.M. and Huntley, B.1999: Estimating past floristic diversity in montane regions from macrofossil assemblages . Journal of Biogeography26, 55-55 .
2.
Bain, D.J. 2003: 400 years of land use impacts on landscape structure and riparian sediment dynamics: investigations using chromite mining waste and property mosaic. PhD Dissertation, Johns Hopkins University.
3.
Birks, H.H.2003: The importance of plant macrofossils in reconstruction of Late glacial vegetation and climate: examples from Scotland, western Norway, and Minnesota, USA . Quarternary Science Reviews22, 453-453 .
4.
Birks, H.H. and Birks, H.J.B.2000: Future uses of pollen analysis must include plant macrofossils . Journal of Biogeography27, 31-31 .
5.
Birks, H.J.B. and Birks, H.H.1980: Quaternary palaeoecology. University Park Press , 289-289 pages.
6.
Bormann, F.H. , Likens, G.E. , Siccama, T.G. , Pierce, R.S. and Eaton, J.S.1974: The export of nutrients and recovery of stable conditions following deforestation at Hubbard Brook . Ecological Monographs44, 255-255 .
7.
Brush, G.S.1984: Patterns of recent sediment accumulation in Chesapeake Bay (Virginia-Maryland, USA) tributaries . Chemical Geology44, 227-227 .
8.
Brush, G.S.1986: Geology and palaeoecology of Chesapeake Bay: a long-term monitoring tool for management . Journal Washington Academy of Sciences76, 146-146 .
9.
Brush, G.S.1989: Rates and patterns of estuarine sediment accumulation . Limnology and Oceanography34, 1235-1235 .
10.
Brush, G.S.1994: Human impact on estuarine ecosystems: an historical perspective. In Roberts, N. , editor, 1992: Geographical perspectives in global environmental change. Blackwell , 397-416.
11.
Brush, G.S. and Hilgartner, W.B.2000: Palaeoecology of sub-merged macrophytes of Chesapeake Bay . Ecological Monographs70, 645-645 .
12.
Brush, G.S. , Lenk, C. and Smith, J.1980: The natural forests of Maryland: an explanation of the vegetation map of Maryland . Ecological Monographs50, 77-92 .
13.
Campbell, D.R. , Duthie, H.C. and Warner, B.G.1997: Post-glacial development of a kettle-hole peatland in southern Ontario . Ecoscience4, 404-404 .
14.
Carmichael, D.P.1980: A record of environmental change during recent millenia in the Hackensack tidal marsh, New Jersey . Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club107, 514-514 .
15.
Clark, J.S.1986: Dynamism in the barrier-beach vegetation of Great South Beach, New York . Ecological Monographs56, 97-97 .
16.
Clark, J.S. and Patterson, W.A., III1985: The development of a tidal marsh: upland and oceanic influences . Ecological Monographs55, 189-217 .
17.
Cleaves, E.T. , Edwards, J. and Glaser, J.D.1968: Geologic map of Maryland. Maryland Geological Survey, Johns Hopkins University .
18.
Cole, K.L.1994: Holocene palaeoecology of an estuary on Santa Rosa Island, California . Quaternary Research41, 326-326 .
19.
Connell, J.H. and Slatyer, R.O.1977: Mechanisms of succession in natural communities and their role in community stability and organization . American Naturalist111, 1119-1144 .
20.
Cooper, S.R. and Brush, G.S.1993: A 2,500-year history of anoxia and eutrophication in Chesapeake Bay . Estuaries16, 617-617 .
21.
Cotton, J.A. , Heritage, G.L. , Large, A.R.G. and Passmore, G.G.1999: Biotic response to late Holocene floodplain evolution in the River Irthing catchment, Cumbria . In Marriot, S.B. and Alexander, J., editors, Floodplains: interdisciplinary approaches. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 163, 163-163 .
22.
Crawley, M.J.1997: Plant ecology. Blackwell Science , 717-717 pp.
23.
Custer, J.F.1986: Prehistoric use of the Chesapeake estuary: a diachronic perspective . Journal Washington Academy Sciences76, 161-172 .
24.
Davis, F.D.1985: Historical changes in submerged macrophyte communities of upper Chesapeake Bay . Ecology66, 981-981 .
25.
Donnelly, J.P. , Bryant, S.S. , Butler, J. , Dowling, J. , Fan, L. , Hausmann, N. , Newby, P. , Shuman, B. , Stern, J. , Westover, K. and Webb, T., III2001: 700 yr sedimentary record of intense hurricane landfalls in southern New England . Geological Society of America Bulletin113, 714-714 .
26.
Earle, C.1992: Into the abyss... again: technical change and destructive occupance in the American cotton belt, 1870-1930. In Dilsaver, L.M. and Colton, C.E. , editors, The American environment, interpretation of past geographies. Rowan and Littlefield , 53-88.
27.
Faegri, K. and Iversen, J.1989: Textbook of pollen analysis. 4th edn.John Wiley and Sons , 328-328 pp.
28.
Fletcher, C.H. , Van Pelt, J.E. , Brush, G.S. and Sherman, J.1993: Tidal wetland record of Holocene sea-level movements and climate history . Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Palaeoecology102, 177-177 .
29.
Freedman, B.1995: Environmental ecology. Academic Press , 606-606 PP.
30.
Froomer, N.L.1980: Morphologic changes in some Chesapeake Bay tidal marshes resulting from accelerated soil erosion . Zeitschrift fur GeomorphologieN.F. 34, 242-254 .
31.
Gleason, H.A.1952: The new Britton and Brown illustratedflora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botorical Garden and Hafner Press , 3 volumes.
32.
Gosselink, J.G. and Turner, R.E.1978: The role of hydrology in freshwater wetland ecosystems. In Good, R.E. , Whigham, D.F. and Simpson, R.L. , editors, Freshwater wetlands. Academic Press , 63-88.
33.
Gottschalk, L.C.1945: Effects of soil erosion on navigation in upper Chesapeake Bay . Geographical Review35, 219-219 .
34.
Goudie, A.2000: The human impact on the natural environment. MIT Press , 527-527 pp.
35.
Groffman, P.M. , Bain, D.J. , Band, L.E. , Belt, K.T. , Brush, G.S. , Grove, J.M. , Pouyat, R.V. , Yesilonis, I.C. and Zipperer, W.C.2003: Down by the riverside: urban riparian ecology . Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment1, 315-321 .
36.
Gross, M.G. , Karweit, M. , Cronin, WB. and Schubel, J.R.1978: Suspended sediment discharge of the Susquehanna River to northern Chesapeake Bay, 1966-1976 . Estuaries1, 106-106 .
37.
Hershner, C. and Wetzel, R.L.1987: Submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation of the Chesapeake Bay. In Majumbar, SK , Hall, L.W and Ausitn, H.M. , editors, Contaminant problems and management of living Chesapeake Bay resources. Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences , 116-133.
38.
Heusser, L.E. , Heusser, C.J. and Weiss, D.1975: Man's influence on the development of the estuarine marsh, Flax Pond, Long Island, New York . Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club102, 61-61 .
39.
Hilgartner, W.B. 1995: Habitat development in a freshwater tidal wetland: a palaeoecological study of human and natural influences. Ph.D. Dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 216 pp.
40.
Hughes, P.D.M. and Dumayne-Peaty, L.2002: Testing theories of mire development using multiple successions at Crymlyn Bog, West Glamorgan, South Wales, UK . Journal of Ecology90, 456-456 .
41.
Huston, M. and Smith, T.1987: Plant succession: life history and competition . American Naturalist130, 168-198 .
42.
Jacobson, R.B. and Coleman, D.J.1986: Stratigraphy and recent evolution of Maryland Piedmont flood plains . American Journal of Science286, 617-617 .
43.
Kellogg, D.C. and Custer, J.F.1994: Paleoenvironmental studies of the State Route I Corridor: contexts for prehistoric settlement, New Castle and Kent Counties, Delaware. Delaware Dept. Transportation Archaeology Series No. 114.
44.
Khan, H. and Brush, G.S.1994: Nutrient and metal accumulation in a freshwater tidal marsh . Estuaries17, 345-345 .
45.
Landsberg, H.E. , Yu, C.S. and Huang, L.1968: Preliminary reconstruction of a long time series of climatic data for the eastern United States. University of Maryland Institute for Fluid Dynamics and Applied Mathematics and Technology Note BN-571, 30-30 pp.
46.
Leck, M.A.1989: Wetland seed banks. In Leck, M.A. , Parker, V.T. and Simpson, R.L. , editors, Ecology of soil seed banks. Academic Press , 283-305.
47.
Leck, M.A. and Simpson, R.L.1987: Seed bank of a freshwater tidal marsh: turnover and relationship to vegetation change . American Journal of Botany74, 360-360 .
48.
Leck, M.A. and Simpson, R.L.1994: Tidal freshwater wetland zonation: seed and seedling dynamics . Aquatic Botany47, 61-61 .
49.
Leck, M.A. and Simpson, R.L.1995: Ten-year seed bank and vegetation dynamics of a tidal freshwater marsh . American Journal of Botany82, 1547-1547 .
50.
Leck, M.A. , Simpson, R.L. , Whigham, D.F. and Leck, C.F.1988: Plants of the Hamilton marshes: a Delaware River freshwater tidal wetland . Bartonia54, 1-17 .
51.
Martin, A.C. and Barkley, WD.1973: Seed identification manual. University of California Press , 221-221 pp.
52.
Marye, WB.1955a: The great Maryland barrens: II . Maryland Historical Magazine50, 120-142 .
53.
Marye, WB.1955b: The great Maryland barrens: III . Maryland Historical Magazine50, 234-253 .
54.
Mitsch, WJ. and Gosselink, J.G.2000: Wetlands. John Wiley & Sons , 920-920 pp.
55.
Montgomery, F.H.1977: Seeds and fruits of plants of eastern Canada and northeastern United States. University of Toronto Press , 232-232 pp.
56.
Niering, WA.1989: Wetland vegetation development. In Majumdar, S.K. , Brooks, R.P , Brenner, F.J. and Tiner, J.R.W , editors, Wetlands ecology and conservation: emphasis in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Academy Science , 103-113.
57.
Niering, WA. and Warren, R.S.1980: Vegetation patterns in New England salt marshes . Bioscience30, 301-301 .
58.
Orson, R.A. , Simpson, R.L. and Good, R.E.1992: The palaeoecological development of a late Holocene tidal freshwater marsh of the upper Delaware River estuary . Estuaries15, 130-146 .
59.
Parker, V.T. and Leck, M.A.1985: Relationships of seed banks to plant distribution patterns in a freshwater tidal wetland . American Journal of Botany72, 161-161 .
60.
Pasternack, G.B. and Brush, G.S.1998: Sedimentation cycles in a river-mouth tidal freshwater marsh . Estuaries21, 407-407 .
61.
Pasternack, G.B. and Hinnov, L.A.2003: Hydrometerological controls on water level in a vegetated Chesapeake Bay tidal freshwater delta . Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science58, 367-367 .
62.
Pasternack, G.B. , Hilgartner, W.B. and Brush, G.S.2000: Biogeomorphology of an upper Chesapeake Bay river-mouth tidal freshwater marsh . Wetlands20, 520-520 .
63.
Pasternack, G.B. , Brush, G.S. and Hilgartner, W.B.2001: Impact of historic land-use changes on sediment delivery to a Chesapeake Bay subestuarine delta . Earth Surface Processes and Landforms26, 409-409 .
64.
Pederson, D.C. , Peteet, D.M. , Kurdyla, D. and Guilderson, T.2005: Medieval Warming, Little Ice Age, and European impact on the environment during the last millennium in the lower Hudson Valley, New York, USA . Quaternary Research63, 238-238 .
65.
Pierce, L.S. and Tiffney, B.H.1986: Holocene fruit, seed and leaf flora from riverine sediments near New Haven, Connecticut . Rhodora88, 229-229 .
66.
Serodes, J.B. and Troude, J.P.1984: Sedimentation cycle of a freshwater tidal flat in the St. Lawrence estuary . Estuaries7, 117-127 .
67.
Shaffer, G.P. , Sasser, C.E. , Gosselink, J.G. and Rejmanek, M.1992: Vegetation dynamics in the emerging Atchafalaya Delta, Louisiana, USA . Journal of Ecology80, 677-677 .
68.
Simpson, R.L. , Good, R.E. , Leck, M.A. and Whigham, D.F.1983: The ecology of freshwater tidal wetlands . Bioscience33, 255-255 .
69.
Smith, D.G.1987: A mini-vibracoring system . Journal of Sedimentary Petrology57, 757-757 .
70.
Stuiver, M. and van der Plicht, H. , editors 1998: Calibration issue . Radiocarbon40, xii-xiii .
71.
Ubelaker, D.H. and Curtin, P.D.2001: Human populations in the Chesapeake watershed. In Curtin, PD. , Brush, G.S. and Fisher, G.W , editors, Discovering the Chesapeake: the history of an ecosystem. The Johns Hopkins University Press , 384-384 pp.
72.
Van der Putten, N. , Stieperaere, H. , Verbruggen, C. and Ochyra, R.2004: Holocene palaeoecology and climate history of South Georgia (sub-Antartica) based on a macrofossil record of bryophytes and seeds . The Holocene14, 382-382 .
73.
van der Valk, A.G.1981: Succession in wetlands: a Gleasonian approach . Ecology62, 688-688 .
74.
Vokes, H.E. and Edwards, J.E.1974: Geography and geology of Maryland. Maryland Geological Survey Bulletin 19, 242-242 pp.
75.
Wasylikowa, K.1986: Analysis of fossil fruits and seeds. In Berglund, B.E. , editor, Handbook of Holocene palaeoecology and paleohydrology. John Wiley and Sons Ltd , 571-591.
76.
Wasylikowa, K.2005: Palaeoecology of Lake Zeribar, Iran, in the Pleniglacial, Lateglacial and Holocene, reconstructed from plant macrofossils . The Holocene15, 720-720 .
77.
Watts, W.A.1978: Plant macrofossils and Quaternary palaeoecology. In Walker, D. and Guppy, J.C. , editors, Biology and Quaternary environments. Australian Academy of Science , 53-67.
78.
Willard, D.A. , Cronin, T.M. and Verardo, S.2003: Late-Holocene climate and ecosystem history from Chesapeake Bay sediment cores, USA . The Holocene13, 201-201 .
79.
Winkler, M.G.1988: Effects of climate on development of two Sphagnum bogs in south-central Wisconsin . Ecology69, 1032-1032 .
80.
Wolman, M.G.1967: A cycle of sedimentation and erosion in urban river channels . Geografiska Annaler49, 385-385 .
81.
Wright, C.M.1967: Our Harford heritage. (No publisher cited) 460-460 pp.
