A study of the population dynamics of Spartina alterniflora at Jiuduansha shoals, Shanghai, China

This study investigated the population expansion pattern of an exotic species of Spartina alterniflora for a period of 7 years, after it had been newly introduced to the neonatal shoals of Jiuduansha (GPS), in the Yangtze Estuary, Shanghai. Remote sensing, in conjunction with geographical information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS) was used to map saltmarsh vegetation on the Jiuduansha shoals and the classifications were then checked using in situ field surveys of selected areas. The results showed that the S. alterniflora population had expanded from 55 hm2 when first introduced in 1997, to 1014 hm2 in 2004. The population expansion pattern of S. alterniflora on the Jiuduansha shoals was compatible with the common feature of invasions, i.e. the initial colonization, a lag time and the onset of rapid population growth and range expansion. In the first year of plantation (1997), about 35 hm2 of S. alterniflora was successfully colonized on the Jiuduansha shoals. The period between 1998 and 2000 was characterized by a lag time, and the area of S. alterniflora increased only to 101.6 hm2. The year 2000 marked an onset of rapid population growth and range expansion and the annual expanding rate reached 25–116%, which exceeded any of the indigenous species and indicated the strong competitive capability, rapid range expansion and wide ecological niche of S. alterniflora.The advent of remote sensing, in conjunction with geographical information systems and global positioning systems, provides a potential tool for mapping vegetation, and for monitoring population dynamics and range expansion of invasive species on a large scale. The implications for population and community dynamics, biodiversity conservation and wetland management in terms of the analysis of the sequence of events associated with the initial colonization, a lag time, rate of geographic spread and features of geographic spread of the exotic S. alterniflora and the native P. australis on the Jiuduansha shoals are discussed.