Aquatic vegetation ecology

Ecology and ecosystem impacts of submerged and floating aquatic vegetation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

Maggie A Christman, Shruti Khanna, Judith Z Drexler, Matthew J Young

Article link: https://doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2023v20iss4art3

In the upper San Francisco Estuary, aquatic vegetation affects every aspect of the physical and biotic environment including ecosystem properties and processes. Impacts are constantly changing across space and time as species change in distribution, respond to environmental conditions, and new species are introduced. This chapter reviews the ecology of plant species found as submerged and floating aquatic vegetation communities in the modern Delta, including how environmental conditions drive changes in plant species and communities and how those species and communities in turn affect the physical and biotic environments in which they are found.