Revegetation dynamics in an Alaskan coastal marsh

Small and large-scale natural disturbances, from stranded logs to earthquakes, frequently provide plant establishment sites in the coastal marshes of Cook Inlet, Alaska. In order to assess revegetation protential and mechanisms, studies of the seed bank, the demography of plant establishment in artificial gaps, and the colonization of natural disturbance sites were conducted on Susitna Flats. Densities of buried viable seed were an order of magnitude less than in freshwater marshes, ranging from 40 to 2880 seeds per m super(2) among 7 plant communities. Seedling establishment in gaps was slow; colonization of 50 x 50 cm canopy openings in 5 communities resulted in only 0 to 21% cover after two years. Control over recruitment of new individuals was primarily abiotic.