What is the difference between estuaries and salt marshes

Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are flooded and drained by salt water brought in by the tides. They are marshy because the soil may be composed of deep mud and peat. Peat is made of decomposing plant matter that is often several feet thick. Peat is waterlogged, root-filled, and very spongy. Because salt marshes are frequently submerged by the tides and contain a lot of decomposing plant material, oxygen levels in the peat can be extremely low—a condition called hypoxia.

Hypoxia is caused by the growth of bacteria which produce the sulfurous rotten-egg smell that is often associated with marshes and mud flats. Geneva: IPCC; b.

Latitudinal trends in Spartina alterniflora productivity and the response of coastal marshes to global change. Glob Chang Biol. Laffoley D, Grimsditch GD. The management of natural coastal carbon sinks. Gland: IUCN; Elevated CO 2 stimulates marsh elevation gain, counterbalancing sea-level rise.

Proc Natl Acad Sci. Progress towards the Aichi biodiversity targets: an assessment of biodiversity trends, policy scenarios and key actions. Montreal: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity; Accessed 24 June Depletion, degradation, and recovery potential of estuaries and coastal seas. Occasional paper of the IUCN species survival commission no. Mates W. Part 1: overview. Diversity of birds in eastern North America shifts north with global warming.

Ecol Evol. Broad-scale modelling of coastal wetlands: what is required? A blueprint for Blue carbon: towards an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO 2. Front Ecol Environ. Increasing flood risk and wetland losses due to global sea-level rise: regional and global analyses. PLoS One. Ecosystems and human well-being: a framework for assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press; Naturalization and invasion of alien plants: concepts and definitions.

Divers Distrib. Riley JL. Wetlands of the Ontario Hudson Bay Lowland: a regional overview. Toronto: Nature Conservancy of Canada; Mangal and coastal salt-marsh communities in Australasia. In: Chapman VJ, editor. Saintilan N, editor. Australian saltmarsh ecology. Mangrove expansion and salt marsh decline at mangrove poleward limits.

Schuyt K, Brander L. Gland: World Wildlife Fund; Glob and Plan Chan. Thannheiser D, Holland P. The plant communities of New Zealand salt meadows. Glob Ecol Biogeogr Lett. Tiner RW. Field guide to coastal wetland plants of the Southeastern United States. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press; Field guide to tidal wetland plants of the Northeastern United States and neighboring Canada. Vegetation of beaches, tidal flats, rocky shores, marshes, swamps, and coastal ponds. Tidal wetlands primer: an introduction to their ecology, natural history, status, and conservation.

Global losses of mangroves and salt marshes. In: Duarte CM, editor. Global loss of coastal habitats. Rates, causes, and consequences. The Alaska vegetation classification system. You can learn much more about these by visiting the links below:. Explore This Park. Cape Cod National Seashore Massachusetts. Info Alerts Maps Calendar Reserve. Alerts In Effect Dismiss. Dismiss View all alerts. Estuaries and Salt Marshes.

An aerial photograph showing vegetation losses in a Cape Cod salt marsh.