. The ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California : a national estuarine research reserve . 1980 1982 Year 1984 Figure Changes in the maximum height of cordgrass. Means are from the number of quadrats in which cordgrass was present each year. September 1983 followed freshwater influence that was of lower volume than the 1980 floodflows but of longer duration. Finally, in September 1984, we found extremely low TSL due to poor growth and heavy mortality of cordgrass following drought conditions. The effect of drought became even more apparent in 1985, when the lowest TSL was documented. Both den
. The ecology of Tijuana Estuary, California : a national estuarine research reserve . 1980 1982 Year 1984 Figure Changes in the maximum height of cordgrass. Means are from the number of quadrats in which cordgrass was present each year. September 1983 followed freshwater influence that was of lower volume than the 1980 floodflows but of longer duration. Finally, in September 1984, we found extremely low TSL due to poor growth and heavy mortality of cordgrass following drought conditions. The effect of drought became even more apparent in 1985, when the lowest TSL was documented. Both density and height were lower than ever before recorded. The delayed reaction of cordgrass TSL measurements was due to the longevity of the plant. Individual stems live years, and the 1984 measurements included stems with some live material from the previous growing season. By 1985, there were few plants from the previous year and few individuals from 1985, even though tidal flushing had been reinstated throughout the entire growing season. To interpret these variations in cordgrass growth requires consideration of the effects of hydrological change on pickleweed, because pickleweed is the competitive dominant (Zedler 1982; Covin 1984) and its distribution overlaps with cordgrass throughout most of the lower marsh. Years of high pickleweed cover were 1979, 1981, and 1984-85 (Figure ). These same years had low cordgrass biomass. Cordgrass TSL can be high when two conditions are met. First, 1 1 0
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