Abstract
The effect of disturbance on vegetation in a variably stressed environment is examined in seven sites along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in Brazoria County, Texas. The relationship of spoil deposition to vegetation is described as well as the relationship of canal construction to historical change in the adjacent marsh. Fourteen mappable plant assemblages were identified by cluster analysis of data obtained along 100-meter transects and verified 1n the field. Species frequencies for these plant assemblages are presented in histograms and compared with environmental data collected along these same transects. Vegetation maps of an abstract nature depict the pattern of assemblages for each site. A map depicting areas of species dominance on a typical mound of dredged material is also presented. Vegetation and habitat data from the individual sites, viewed in the context of historical land use and modification in the general study area, indicate that soil moisture is the limiting factor for plant growth both past and present. Deposition of spoil on the canal banks has led to less uniform and more dynamic conditions of soil moisture and has increased the range of soil moisture potentials. Spray from passing boats and bank erosion has added a new dimension of wetting and drying along the canal. Vegetation patterning results from the direct influence of the physical factors on individual plants as well as concomitant alterations of interspecific competition.
Vaughan, Randy Joe (1977). Disturbance in a stressed environment : bank vegetation of the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway at Cedar Lake, Texas. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -629264.