Saltmarshes are found in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water in temperate and high latitudes where there isn’t strong wave action and sediments are able to build up. They are found on all continents other than Antarctica.
They are dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant (halophytic) plants such as herbs, grasses and low shrubs. These land plants are essential to the stability of the salt marsh because they trap and bind sediments. Saltmarshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the exporting of nutrients to coastal waters. They also provide habitats for many terrestrial animals such as migrating birds as well as providing protection to the coastline. Unlike other land habitats saltmarshes are strongly influenced by the daily tidal flow that floods the area. This supplies sediments, nutrients and water to the marsh.
|
