Shallow ponds are expanding in many salt marshes with potential impacts on ecosystem functioning. Determining how pond characteristics change over time and scale with physical dimensions and other spatial predictors could facilitate incorporation of ponds into projections of ecosystem change. We evaluated scaling relationships across six differently sized ponds in three regions of the high marshes within the Plum Island Ecosystems‐Long Term Ecological Research site (MA, USA). We further characterized diel fluctuations in surface water chemistry in two ponds to understand short‐term processes that affect emergent properties (e.g., habitat suitability). Primary producers drove oxygen levels to supersaturation during the day, while nighttime respiration resulted in hypoxic to anoxic conditions. Diel swings in oxygen were mirrored by pH and resulted in successive shifts in redox‐sensitive metabolisms, as indicated by nitrate consumption at dusk followed by peaks in ammonium and then sulfide overnight. Abundances of macroalgae and Ruppia maritima correlated with whole‐pond oxygen metabolism rates, but not with surface area (SA), volume (V), or SA:V. Moreover, there were no clear patterns in primary producer abundances, surface water chemistry, or pond metabolism rates across marsh regions supplied by different tidal creeks or that differed in distance to upland borders or creekbanks. Comparisons with data from 2 years prior demonstrate that plant communities and biogeochemical processes are not in steady state. Factors contributing to variability between ponds and years are unclear but likely include infrequent tidal exchange. Temporal and spatial variability and the absence of scaling relationships complicate the integration of high marsh ponds into ecosystem biogeochemical models.

中文翻译：

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盐沼池塘的生物地球化学每小时变化一次，但不会随尺寸或地理空间位置缩放

浅水池塘在许多盐沼中扩展，对生态系统功能有潜在影响。确定池塘特征如何随时间和尺度随物理尺寸和其他空间预测因素变化，可以促进将池塘纳入生态系统变化的预测中。我们评估了梅花岛生态系统长期生态研究站点（美国马萨诸塞州）内三个沼泽高沼地中六个大小不同的池塘之间的尺度关系。我们进一步表征了两个池塘中地表水化学的狄尔波动，以了解影响突现特性（例如，栖息地适宜性）的短期过程。初级生产者在白天将氧气水平推升至过饱和状态，而夜间呼吸导致缺氧至缺氧条件。pH反映了氧气中Diel的波动，并导致氧化还原敏感性代谢的连续变化，这表现为黄昏时硝酸盐的消耗，接着是铵的峰值，然后是硫化物的过夜。大量的藻类和maripima maritima与全氧代谢速率相关，但与表面积（SA），体积（V）或SA：V不相关。此外，在由不同的潮汐小溪提供的沼泽地区或到高地边界或小溪的距离不同的沼泽地区，初级生产者的丰度，地表水化学或池塘新陈代谢率没有明确的模式。与两年前的数据进行比较表明，植物群落和生物地球化学过程未处于稳定状态。导致池塘和年份之间变化的因素尚不清楚，但可能包括潮汐交换很少。时间和空间的可变性以及缺乏比例关系使高沼泽池塘纳入生态系统生物地球化学模型的过程变得复杂。