Home›Species›Habitat›Salt MarshBiomeSalt MarshMarine and Coastal BiomesReference and ClassificationDevelopingA salt marsh is a coastal wetland biome of low-lying land regularly flooded and drained by the tides, dominated by salt-tolerant grasses, rushes and low shrubs able to grow rooted in waterlogged, saline soil rather than the trees found in a freshwater swamp or a tropical mangrove forest. Common in temperate latitudes where mangroves cannot survive winter cold, salt marshes trap sediment, buffer inland areas from storm surge and serve as a nursery ground for many coastal fish and shellfish species, much as mangrove forests do in warmer latitudes. They are counted among the most productive biomes on Earth per unit area, though extensive historical drainage for agriculture and coastal development has left many salt marsh systems reduced from their original extent.FactsSalt MarshConnectionsSourcesTake a Related QuizComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsDisputedAnnual Precipitation (mm)Scholarly debate452 1452mm (17.8 inches) is this same reserve's 1967-1979 average, which itself ranged from about 199mm to 932mm year to year; salt marshes on wetter coasts receive far more.Typical Low Temperature (C)Scholarly debate4 1The source states only that the coldest month's average minimum stays above freezing, without an exact figure; 4C is a reasoned representative value for that same southern California site, not a measured global low.Typical High Temperature (C)Scholarly debate23.9 123.9C (75F) is the average August maximum at a single well-documented site, the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve in coastal southern California, not a global figure; salt marshes occur from subtropical to subarctic coasts.Salt MarshFilter Results18 entriesCommon GroupAllAsters And Composites (Asterales) (1)Carnations And Cacti (Caryophyllales) (2)Crabs (3)Grasses And Sedges (Poales) (1)Herons, Egrets And Allies (2)Mints, Nightshades And Allies (Lamiales/Solanales) (1)Other Bony Fish (1)Parsleys And Ivies (Apiales) (1)Rusts, Smuts And Plant Pathogens (2)Shorebirds (Waders) (2)Shrimp And Prawns (1)Turtles And Tortoises (Testudines) (1)TaxonomyAllAmaranthaceae (1)Apiaceae (1)Ascomycota (1)Asteraceae (1)Charadriidae (1)Charadriiformes (1)Cyperaceae (1)Decapoda (3)Magnoliopsida (2)Ostracoda (1)Pelecaniformes (2)Sordariomycetes (1)Testudinidae (1)Conservation StatusAllCritically Endangered (1)Least Concern (6)Not Evaluated (9)Vulnerable (1)EcosystemAllCamargue (1)Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (1)Coral Reef Systems (1)Galapagos (1)Sahel (1)Simpson Desert (1)Everyday GroupAllAsters And Composites (Asterales) (1)Carnations And Cacti (Caryophyllales) (2)Crabs (3)Grasses And Sedges (Poales) (1)Herons, Egrets And Allies (2)Mints, Nightshades And Allies (Lamiales/Solanales) (1)Other Bony Fish (1)Parsleys And Ivies (Apiales) (1)Rusts, Smuts And Plant Pathogens (2)Shorebirds (Waders) (2)Shrimp And Prawns (1)Turtles And Tortoises (Testudines) (1)DietAllCarnivore (4)Detritivore or Scavenger (1)Insectivore (2)Omnivore (2)Parasitic (2)Photosynthetic Autotroph (6)System (Realm)AllFreshwater (8)Marine (12)Terrestrial (9)ThreatsAllPollution (1)Relationship to PeopleAllAgricultural or Structural Pest (1)Eaten or Drunk by People (1)Farmed or Commercially Raised (3)Hunted or Fished (3)Invasive or Introduced Species (1)Kept as Pets (2)Used in Traditional Medicine (4)Living or ExtinctAllYes (10)Where It LivesAllAfghanistan (1)Africa (5)Albania (2)Algeria (2)Antigua and Barbuda (1)Australasia (1)Australia (4)Austria (2)Bahamas (1)Bangladesh (1)Barbados (1)Belarus (1)Belgium (8)Belize (1)Bolivia (1)Botswana (1)Brazil (3)Bulgaria (1)Cambodia (1)Cameroon (1)Canada (2)Colombia (5)Costa Rica (2)Cuba (2)Cyprus (2)Denmark (9)Djibouti (2)Dominica (1)Dominican Republic (2)Ecuador (4)Egypt (2)Eritrea (3)Estonia (1)Ethiopia (2)Europe (2)Finland (3)France (8)Germany (7)Greece (2)Grenada (1)Guatemala (1)Haiti (1)Hungary (2)Iceland (2)India (2)Iran (1)Iraq (1)Ireland (8)Italy (4)Japan (1)Kazakhstan (1)Kenya (2)Latvia (1)Lesotho (2)Libya (2)Luxembourg (1)Mexico (2)Moldova (1)Monaco (1)Mongolia (2)Morocco (2)Mozambique (2)Myanmar (1)Nepal (1)Netherlands (3)North America (8)Norway (11)Palestine (1)Peru (1)Poland (4)Portugal (4)Romania (1)South Africa (1)South America (4)South Asia (3)Spain (7)Sweden (8)Switzerland (1)Taiwan (1)Tanzania (2)Thailand (1)Tunisia (1)Turkey (2)Ukraine (4)United Kingdom (1)United States (7)Uruguay (2)Venezuela (3)Vietnam (1)Zimbabwe (1)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 18Apium graveolensSalt MarshArmeria maritimaSalt MarshArtemisia maritimaSalt MarshBlue CrabSalt MarshCallinectes SapidusSalt MarshClaviceps PurpureaSalt MarshEgyptian tortoiseSalt MarshErgotSalt MarshFlorida Stone CrabSalt MarshGreat Blue HeronSalt MarshGreat EgretSalt MarshKentish ploverSalt MarshLimonium vulgareSalt MarshLined SeahorseSalt MarshPied avocetSalt MarshSalicornia europaeaSalt MarshSeed ShrimpSalt MarshSlender Club-RushSalt MarshConnectionsHome ToApium graveolens, Species Well-attested Source Plants For A Future: Apium graveolensArmeria maritima, Species Well-attested Source Armeria maritima (Wikipedia)Artemisia maritima, Species Well-attested Source Artemisia maritima (Wikipedia)Blue Crab, Species Well-attested Source Encyclopaedia Britannicatier 1Callinectes Sapidus, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Callinectes sapidustier 2Claviceps Purpurea, Species Well-attested Source Claviceps purpurea, WikipediaEgyptian tortoise, Species Well-attested Source Kleinmann's Tortoise (Wikipedia)Ergot, Species Well-attested Source Claviceps purpurea, WikipediaFlorida Stone Crab, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Florida stone crabtier 2Great Blue Heron, Species Well-attested Source Encyclopaedia Britannicatier 1Great Egret, Species Well-attested Source Encyclopaedia Britannicatier 1Kentish plover, Species Well-attested Source Kentish plover (Wikipedia)Limonium vulgare, Species Well-attested Source Limonium vulgare (Wikipedia)Lined Seahorse, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Lined seahorsePied avocet, Species Well-attested Source Pied avocet (Wikipedia)Salicornia europaea, Species Well-attested Source Plants For A Future: Salicornia europaeaSeed Shrimp, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: OstracodSlender Club-Rush, Species Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Isolepis cernuatier 2Sources1. Environmental Setting (UCSB Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve)UC Santa Barbara Natural Reserve SystemUCSB Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, Environmental Setting, climate sectionQuote, UCSB Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, Environmental Setting, climate sectionThe average annual precipitation at Santa Barbara for the period 1967 to 1979 was 17.8 inches (45.6 cm).View the SourceEncyclopaedia Britannicatier 1Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.Home To: Blue CrabHome To: Great Blue HeronHome To: Great EgretView the SourceWikipedia: Florida stone crabtier 2WikipediaHome To: Florida Stone Crab, Wikipedia intro: "the Bahamas, and the East Coast of the United States. The crab can also be found in and around the salt marshes of South Carolina and Georgia. The closely relat..."View the SourceLimonium vulgare (Wikipedia)Home To: Limonium vulgare, Wikipedia intro: "southwestern Sweden to southwestern Iberia, and introduced elsewhere. A clumping perennial found in salt marshes and other maritime habitats, it is a probable s..."View the SourceKleinmann's Tortoise (Wikipedia)Home To: Egyptian tortoise, Habitat and ecologyQuote, Home To: Egyptian tortoise, Habitat and ecologyKleinmann's tortoise lives in deserts and semiarid habitats, usually with compact sand and gravel plains, scattered rocks, shallow, sandy wadis, dry woodlands, shrubby areas, and coastal salt marsh habitats.View the SourceWikipedia: Isolepis cernuatier 2WikipediaHome To: Slender Club-Rush, Lead sectionQuote, Home To: Slender Club-Rush, Lead sectioncernua is a small sedge that can be common in boggy ground and around ponds in both freshwater wetlands and salt marshes, as well as among dune slacks and other brackish environments.View the SourceArmeria maritima (Wikipedia)Home To: Armeria maritima, article text (habitat biome), EntityId 363400, target B287451Quote, Home To: Armeria maritima, article text (habitat biome), EntityId 363400, target B287451It can grow in dry, sandy, saline conditions such as coastal cliffs, grassland and salt marshes, salted roadsides and inland on mountain rocks.View the SourceArtemisia maritima (Wikipedia)Home To: Artemisia maritima, article text (habitat biome), EntityId 366811, target B287451Quote, Home To: Artemisia maritima, article text (habitat biome), EntityId 366811, target B287451It occurs mostly on saline soils, being found on the drier parts of saltmarshes, brackish ditches, sea cliffs, and coastal shingle.View the SourceWikipedia: Lined seahorseHome To: Lined Seahorse, Habitat and distributionQuote, Home To: Lined Seahorse, Habitat and distributionDepending on the season, the species can be found in shallow waters or deep waters along beaches, oyster beds, and banks covered in vegetation, as well as in bays or salt marshes.View the SourceClaviceps purpurea, WikipediaHome To: Ergot, Intraspecific variationsG1-land grasses of open meadows and fields; G2-grasses from moist, forest, and mountain habitats; G3 (Claviceps purpurea var. spartinae), salt marsh grasses (Spartina, Distichlis).Home To: Claviceps Purpurea, Intraspecific variationsG1-land grasses of open meadows and fields; G2-grasses from moist, forest, and mountain habitats; G3 (Claviceps purpurea var. spartinae), salt marsh grasses (Spartina, Distichlis).View the SourceWikipedia: Callinectes sapidustier 2WikipediaHome To: Callinectes Sapidus, EcologyQuote, Home To: Callinectes Sapidus, EcologyAlthough an aquatic predator, C. sapidus will remain in shallow pits in salt marshes at low tide and ambush intertidal prey such as fiddler crabs (e.g., Minuca pugnax) and purple marsh crabs (Sesarma reticulatum) C. sapidus may be able to control populations of the invasive green crab, Carcinus maenas; numbers of the two species are negatively correlated, and C. maenas is not fView the SourcePied avocet (Wikipedia)Home To: Pied avocet, HabitatsQuote, Home To: Pied avocet, HabitatsIt also occurs in shallow lakes, ponds, salt marshes, or various floodplains, rarely on inland lakes or rivers, and sometimes feeds on agricultural land.View the SourceKentish plover (Wikipedia)Home To: Kentish plover, Habitats and movementQuote, Home To: Kentish plover, Habitats and movementThe breeding habitats are most commonly alkali lake shores, wetlands, salt marshes, and coastland, which is fitting with the results of a study that investigated what makes an environment suitable for a breeding habitat for the Kentish plover.View the SourceWikipedia: OstracodHome To: Seed Shrimp, DistributionQuote, Home To: Seed Shrimp, DistributionTerrestricytheroidea is semi-terrestrial and usually found in brackish and marine-influenced environments such as salt marshes, but not in freshwater.View the SourcePlants For A Future: Salicornia europaeaPlants For A FutureHome To: Salicornia europaea, HabitatsQuote, Home To: Salicornia europaea, HabitatsCoastal sands, mudflats and salt marshes, often near the low tide markView the SourcePlants For A Future: Apium graveolensPlants For A FutureHome To: Apium graveolens, HabitatsQuote, Home To: Apium graveolens, HabitatsDitches, by rivers and in other damp locations, especially near the sea in salt marshesView the SourceTake a Related QuizWorld Biomes in ExtremesCovers this kind of entry.Comments (0)No comments yet. 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