Table of ContentsIntroductionResultsConclusionIntroductionOne of the areas where a plant's living conditions are most extreme must be the coastline. The vegetation that lives there is flooded up to twice a day for a few hours. Not only must they withstand waves, but also changes in temperature, salinity and pH. They must cope with hydrodynamic forces to live and reproduce. However, without them, the coasts would be completely different than they are today. Intertidal marsh plants are necessary for the coastline because they protect it from too much erosion. Vegetation ensures that waves don't crash into land as hard as they would without it. However, since plants have an effect on ocean water, water also has an effect on plants. Plants living near water must adapt to a stressful environment. Even individual organisms of the same species can differ in their morphological qualities due to where they live. This article investigates the effect of breaking waves on tidal marsh plant ecosystem engineering and what effect tidal marsh plants have on their environment, particularly water. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Results The first study is where the effect of waves on the plant Scirpus maritimus is measured. The measurements were taken at two different locations, one in Groot Buitenschoor (Belgium) and Schor van Rilland (Netherlands). At these two locations, measurements were taken at two sites, one exposed to waves and the other protected from waves. The traits measured were total shoot length, basal stem diameter, shoot density and dry biomass. In March 2014, new shoots of the dominant pioneer species, S. maritimus, began to grow. In September of the same year, shoot height was measured. What emerged from the data was that the shoots growing on the sheltered site were taller than the shoots on the wave-exposed site. This study also shows that not only does shoot height differ, but stem diameter also varies from site to site. The basal stem diameter of plants growing closer to the wave crashing site was significantly thicker than the diameter of plants at the sheltered site. In terms of shoot density, there is also a difference between the site exposed to waves and the sheltered site. The measured plant density was higher on the exposed site than on the sheltered site. Finally, in dry biomass measurements, a significant difference was noted between sites located at 4 m and 12 m depth in the marsh. At 12 m depth in the marsh, dry biomass was higher than at 4 m. These results suggest that plants growing in a site exposed to waves have evolved a strategy to avoid stress by being more flexible and shorter than plants growing in a protected site. . Even during the growing season, these morphological changes occur due to local exposure to waves. It is therefore safe to say that waves have a direct and indirect effect on these marsh plants. There are different studies in which plants of the same species of algae, Fucus gardneri, are measured in area, length and mass. The measurements were taken at two locations on the Oregon coast. One was exposed to the waves and the other was not. Some individual plants are then transplanted to the location opposite where they started growing, and theseramets are measured over the course of a year. The average sizes of all measurements show that exposed plants are significantly smaller than plants in protected areas. After the measurements, a prediction model is produced. This model predicts that the chances of survival decrease if plant size and exposure to waves increase. Thus, small F. gardneri plants have a greater probability of survival in areas exposed to waves than larger plants. However, it also works the other way around, larger plants have a higher survival rate in an area not exposed to waves, due to competition. After transplanting, the plants are measured again in area. The average area of ​​a transplant control group (protected zone to protected zone, P to P) increases slowly over a year. However, the average area of ​​plants transplanted from a protected area to an exposed area (P to E) decreases considerably within a few months. After the first few months, the average area remains somewhat the same. On the other hand, plants that moved from an exposed area to a protected area (E to P) measured an increase in average surface area. Plant area also increased during the year due to plant growth. It even grew so much that the largest plants were 3 to 4 times larger than the largest control plant living in an area exposed to waves. Finally, the last control group (from E to E) presented an average surface area which decreased during this experiment. Reproductive status was also measured by measuring the number of receptacles per thallus. The more receptacles there are per thallus, the better the reproductive state of the plant. Plants that were moved from P to E had fewer receptacles per thallus than the control group on the left that moved from P to P. For the other two groups, the one that moved from E to P developed more receptacles per thallus than plants that moved from P to E. E to E. Thus, plants that were exposed to waves saw their reproductive capacity reduced and plants that moved to a protected site grew and increased their reproductive capacity. These results suggest that the main factor in the decrease in algal size would be the increase in algal size. hydrodynamic force of breaking waves. For example, plants that moved from P to E disappeared due to the shredding of ramets of all sizes. This would mean that the size of the waves could adapt the size of the plants growing on the shore. This would also mean that the reduction in average size is not due to the displacement of only the largest individuals. Since plants that moved from zones E to P were able to grow much larger in their protected environment, there must be some aspect of hydrodynamic force limiting plant growth. The next study examines the influence of a Bolboschoenus maritimus marsh on water and the influence of water on the marsh. This was measured with self-recording acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADV). These ADVs were placed at four different locations on a transect on the Elbe River (Germany). Measurements were carried out at two sites, one in the Nordkehdingen nature reserve and the other on the Krautsand peninsula, located 30 km upstream. On these two sites, the ADVs were placed at the edge of the marsh (0), and three at -5 (going into the sea), 5 and 15 m from the edge of the marsh. They measured velocities along the shore and across the shore. The absolute speed off shore ranged from 0 to 0.18 m/s with an average of 0.03 m/s. For cross-shore, speed ranged from 0 to 0.12 m/s with an average of 0.01m/s. However, during the growing season, the speed of long-shore and cross-shore transportation changed. In April, when no vegetation grew above the ground, the littoral speed decreased as one moved away from the edge of the marsh. However, in August, when the vegetation biomass is at its maximum, the decrease in speed is much stronger. The cross-sectional measurements in April are all about the same, but in August the speed decreases as the water moves inland. This reduction is more than 50% on the 15 m wide B. maritimus cultivation belt. The study also revealed interesting elements: the diameter of the stem differed between the edge of the marsh and the interior of the vegetation. At the edge of the swamp, the diameter was significantly thicker than inside. The study also found that plants grew more densely inside the vegetation than at the edges. Finally, the study revealed that the diameter of the rod was positively correlated with the average speed of the coastal current. Measurements taken in April, which show that the speed of the longshore current decreased without aerial vegetation, could be due to the decrease in water depth. The opposite was true for the April measurements of transliteral speed, which were stable throughout the transect. In fact, the transverse speed is reduced by vegetation. Unlike the littoral current which flows parallel to the shore, it is therefore not influenced by the marsh, but it is influenced by the vegetation to the right and left along the shore. This buffer zone can be much larger than that provided by the edge of the marsh. This explains the decrease in the speed of the coastal current in April. The results of this study confirm that current speed decreases due to the growth of marsh plants on the shore. Differences in plant morphology could be due to different sites having different nutrient levels. Thicker stems and lower density at the edge are a vital trait for plants, as they give them stability against crashing waves. The greater diameter of the stems of plants growing at the edge of the marsh could be a morphological adaptation to avoid breakage. In this latest study, two plant species, Berula erecta and Aquatic Mentha, which live near the shore, are compared in their morphological modifications linked to wind and water movement. The two species live in the same area, but they have very contrasting morphologies. Due to their differences, the two species are capable of living at different current speeds. The two objectives of this study were to determine whether changes in morphology correspond to an increasing stress factor, and to be able to show the capacity of plants to change morphologically to changes in their environment. Plant fitness metrics were assessed using the variables: drag coefficient and E-value. Drag coefficient is drag relative to wave or flow speed and exposed plant leaf area to the flow. The drag coefficient always decreases as the flow speed increases for B. erecta. With this, a consistent curve developed. In contrast, for the M. Aquatica, some curves showed a maximum increase in drag coefficient with increasing flow velocities. After that, the increasing curve was followed by an expected decrease. The shape of the curve could be due to the spatial reconfiguration of plant leaves at low speed. The E value is the measure of plant reconfiguration, taken as water velocity increases. The higher the E value,.