Sara Wang

BES 301
Research Paper
June 3, 2017

Introduction:
This research paper looks into the relationship between soil texture and its association with
maximum stem height of the tidal marsh plant Schoenoplectus pungens, formerly, Scirpus americanus. S.
pungens has historic cultural and biological significance, and has very little research devoted to the
species specifically. This paper will analyze soil composition and height data collected on sweetgrass to
hopefully bring the plant into discussion in ecological and biological conversation, especially when it
comes to land restoration and management. Because little research has been done on sweetgrass, this
analyzation of data will hopefully shed light into what soil composition sweetgrass grows best in.
Information like this is very valuable in the scientific community because it is background information on
an organism that directly affects its health and growth and will most definitely be imperative knowledge
when working in the field.
S. pungens is a rhizomatous sedge found on the coast of tidal marshes where soil substrate is
variable in many aspects, including soil texture and composition. In an indoor controlled study done by
Poor (et al. 2005), it was shown that S. pungens can concentrate roots in patches of soil with a higher
nutrient content when the soil has a heterogenous mixture of high and low nutrient patches. This
suggests that S. pungens may be drawn to certain patches of soil based on resource availability.
Although, in a field study done by Albert (et al. 2013), it was also found that S. pungens can grow well in
a variety of soil compositions found in tidal marshes. In a PowerPoint shown by Crandell (2017), it was
suggested that soil does indeed influence different S. pungens attributes, for example, stem height,
stem density, stem width, etc. With these in mind, my hypothesis is to question what soil composition,
in terms of sand, S. pungens grows best in by determining how sand concentration affects stem height.
My prediction is that S. pungens prefers a substrate that has a higher amount of sand because of the
frequent flooding the marsh experiences. Due to the large particle size of sand, sandy soils allow for
faster drainage of water which means less time the roots of S. pungens spends in anoxic conditions. This
prediction is supported by a study done by Seliskar (1990), where it was found that “In two dune slacks
at Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware, the sedge S. americanus was taller and more robust in the drier
portion of the slack.”
Methods:

S. pungens was chosen as the species to study because of its ecological and cultural importance.
S. pungens provides critical habitat for the Snow Plovers during their travels along the Pacific Flyway.
The plant is also one of the main ingredients used to make baskets by several Native American tribes
including the Lummi, Tsimshian, and the Aleut to name a few.

In this experimental design I used data that was collected by Professor Crandell during a
collection period from 1999 to 2008. The field data was gathered from Grays Harbor on two shores, a
“North Shore” and a “South Shore” both located in Bowerman Basin. Transects were placed in the
marshes perpendicular to the shoreline and the elevation gradient, while 4-5 quadrats were placed
along those transects, with a total of 10 transects. Using the collected data, I specifically looked at how
the percentage of sand in tidal marsh substrate affected the stem height of S. pungens. Substrate
composition was measured by collecting a soil sample from each quadrat and sieving it through multiple
sieves after being dried at 105 degrees Celsius. Percentage of clay, silt, and sand could be calculated
using this information. Stem height was measured in centimeters within a quadrat. No data was
eliminated from my use, but because I did decide to only look at sand, silt and clay data were not used.
For data analyzation, I ran a regression analysis comparing substrate concentration of sand and stem
height. For this paper I found the P-value and R2-value using a regression analysis specifically because it
is the best method in determining if there is an association between two continuous variables. All the
calculations were made using Excel, as well as my graphs and table. I also made a histogram of the
frequency of stem heights to determine which height was most common for S. pungens, which ended up
being around 120 cm.

12

10

8
Frequency

0
45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150 165
Stem Height (cm)

Figure 1: Histogram showing the frequency of S. pungens stem heights found both in the North and
South Shore.
Results:

R-Squared = 0.0452
P-Value = 0.171
160

140
Maxium Stem Height (cm)

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Percentage of Sand in Substrate

Figure 2: A scatter plot showing the association of soil sand concentration to maximum stem height in
both shores using the least squares method. The P-value was 0.171 and the R2-value was 0.0452.
Maximum stem height was recorded from each quadrat in every transect.

Table 1: A regression test ran with the same data as the scatter plot in Figure 2.
Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.212629325
R Square 0.04521123
Adjusted R Square 0.021923699
Standard Error 26.77482429
Observations 43

ANOVA
df SS MS F Significance F
Regression 1 1391.797769 1391.797769 1.9414351 0.171021045
Residual 41 29392.53984 716.8912155
Total 42 30784.33761

Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0%
Intercept 114.5670948 10.43767477 10.97630433 8.88799E-14 93.48778296 135.6464066 93.48778296 135.6464066
%sand(2Oct99) -0.233636341 0.167679109 -1.393353903 0.171021045 -0.572271171 0.104998489 -0.572271171 0.104998489

There is no significant association between maximum stem height and sand concentration
(regression analysis, n=43, p=0.171).
Discussion:

In this research, my hypothesis is that soil composition influences the stem height of S. pungens,
particularly, the sand concentration of soil found in the tidal marsh substrate.

A P-value of 0.171 tells us that there is no statistical significance between sand percentages of
substrate and stem height, which means that the two variables are not associated and the hypothesis is
rejected. The P-value is also well above 0.10 to even be considered biologically meaningful. S. pungens
grows to varying lengths of stem heights in different sand compositions, which is in line with the study
done by Albert (et. Al 2013) where it was found that S. pungens grows well in a variety of soil
compositions. This research topic was very narrow in the data I chose to analyze. Because I chose to only
look at the effect of sand composition of soil; silt, and clay data were left out of examination. Silt and
clay compositions could’ve had more of an impact on stem height than sand alone, so a better study
would be to examine all three holistically to see if there is a preferred combination of soil texture that S.
pungens grows best in. It is not surprising to see a slight decrease in maximum stem height as sand
concentration increases. Not very many plants grow well in soil that is solely made up of sand, silt, or
clay. Keeping in mind that S. pungens grows in tidal marshes where the makeup of soil is mixed and
variable, I believe scatter plots for silt, and clay would look similar to figure 2.

Since sand, silt, and clay have different sizes, different ratios of the three will affect the soil
differently, and in turn, affect the plants. My prediction I stated earlier was that a higher sand
concentration would show greater maximum stem height, and because the graph disproves this, there
must be something about having silt and clay in soil that contribute to the health and height of S.
pungens. Having silt and clay in the soil may contribute to more efficient mineral and water absorption
by plant roots, compared to roots in almost pure sand.

Other research has been done that shows S. pungens with transformed roots “grown in the
presence of metals removed 3.8 and 1.2 times more Pb and Cr, respectively, than non-transformed
roots” (Alfaro-Saldana, et. Al 2016). Because S. pungens grows in a variety of soils, and has been shown
to remove heavy metals from soil, this makes it a viable candidate for soil and water restoration of sites
polluted with metals. Because S. pungens is found in tidal marshes, I think they would be best used for
restoration and management in other tidal marshes where conditions are similar to where they are
found naturally.

Considering this isn’t a controlled study, it is very likely that other factors affected the results of
the data collected, for example, soil pH, soil moisture and mineral content, predation from other
organisms, etc. If I could design a study to find what soil composition S. pungens grows best in, I would
perform an in-door controlled study where patches of S. pungens are grown in an environment similar
to tidal marshes, but each plot, or quadrat, has a different ratio of sand, silt, and clay. Everything else in
the soil would be controlled, like carbon content for example.
 References:
Poor, A, Hershock, C, Rosella, K, and Goldberg, DE. 2005. Do physiological integration and soil
heterogeneity influence the clonal growth and foraging of Schoenoplectus pungens? Plant Ecology
[Internet]. [cited 4 Apr 2017];181(1):45-56.
Albert, DA, Cox, DT, Lemein, T, and Yoon HD. 2013. Characterization of Schoenoplectus pungens
in a Great Lakes Coastal Wetland and a Pacific Northwestern Estuary. Wetlands [Internet]. [cited 4 Apr
2017];33(3):445-458.
Crandell, C. 2017. University of Washington Bothell. BES 301. Introduction to sweetgrass study.
PowerPoint presentation, slide 14 [Internet]. [cited 4 Apr 2017].
Seliskar, D. 1990. The role of waterlogging and sand accretion in modulating the morphology of
the dune slack plant scirpus-americanus. Canadian journal of botany [Internet]. [cited 5 June
2017];68(8):1780-1787.
Alfaro-Saldaña, E, Pérez-Molphe-Balch, E, Santos-Díaz, M. 2016. Generation of transformed
roots of Scirpusamericanus Pers. and study of their potential to remove Pb2+ and Cr3+. Plant Cell, Tissue
and Organ Culture [Internet]. [cited 5 May 2017];127(1):15-24.