The importance of salt marsh areas. An insight into the specialised and varied habitats found on UK coastlines, the protections afforded to them, and species of principle conservation concern. The four types of estuaries are fjords, coastal plain estuaries, tectonic estuaries and bar-built estuaries.
Saltwater floods swiftly and silently up winding creeks to cover the marsh before retreating again; revealing glistening mud teeming with the invisible life that draws in thousands of birds to feed.
Biological importance.
Our study shows that the response of coastal salt marshes to climate change is a function of the coupled tidal mudflat-salt marsh system, rather than their vertical sediment accretion rates alone. Description. Salt marshes occur on low-energy coasts in temperate climates and high-latitudes. But at the salt marsh when the tidal mudflats are exposed, the landscape acquires a character that is in some ways more interesting than during high tides. An overview of the importance of saltmarshes, coastal lagoons, and mudflats.
Salt marsh sedimentation and elevation growth rates alone, often used to assess the ability of salt marshes to adapt to future SLR (Webb et al., 2013), are therefore an unsuitable tool for assessing the response of a salt marsh to SLR. Estuaries are formed when freshwater from streams and rivers mix with the seawater. Those swaths of shiny, brackish, waterlogged mire create different shapes and textures, reveal the hidden creeks and narrow conduits, host crabs and crawlers, and provide an open scavenging spot for waterbirds. Salt marshes are important because they fulfil a variety of vital roles in processes operating in coastal systems 5.
Saltmarsh and mudflats.
Therefore, the idea that salt marsh adaptability relies on local sediment supply needs to be expanded, incorporating the morphology and long-term evolution of the adjacent tidal mudflats.
A mudflat (aka tidal flats) is a coastal wetland that forms when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. In areas of sheltered water, like a harbour, the sediment held in the water settles out and builds up. Important for estuarine food chains; primary productivity and a support resource for estuarine food webs 6.
Rising from some 500 square kilometers of mudflats and salt marshes in a northern French bay is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Mont Saint-Michel.
As the mudflats build up, different types of plants can grow and live there creating a salt marsh habitat …
Particular focus will be given to the ongoing impacts of coastal squeeze and sea level changes. What is it?
As plants arrive and grow their roots help to stick the mud particles together and trap even more sediment so the mudflats become more stable. In coastal areas sheltered from waves, slow moving tides gently lap over a flat expanse of fine mud.
Salt marshes start life as mudflats.