The zonation of the plant communities is a distinctive feature of the salt marshes at Langebaan. The zonation of plants within a salt marsh environment is detailed via illustrations and scientific nomeclature for purposes of encouraging outdoor educators to use the salt marsh environment as a learning laboratory. The underlying theories of formation and zonation of salt marshes have been extensively reviewed (e.g., Pomeroy and Wiegert 1981, Adam 1980, Montague and Wiegert 1990). Interpretation of the Saltmarsh Zonation layer should be made in combination with AfA137 Saltmarsh Extents. A large area of salt marsh may be covered by wrack for some time, which probably smother the underlying plants. Zonation occurs when various salt marsh plant species thrive in specific elevation ranges. In the high intertidal and supratidal, such open bare areas are prone to strong evaporation and salt deposits begin to accumulate. The common zonation pattern of North Carolina salt marshes divides the marsh into five zones: supratidal, salt barren, upper intertidal, lower intertidal and subtidal (Wilson 1981). Salt Marsh Pan. Etri, Lawrence R. Communicator, v10 n1 p17-22 1978-79. This dataset contains data owned by … Scott M. White, Elizabeth A. Madsen, Tracking tidal inundation in a coastal salt marsh with Helikite airphotos: Influence of hydrology on ecological zonation at Crab Haul Creek, South Carolina, Remote Sensing of Environment, 10.1016/j.rse.2016.08.005, 184, (605-614), (2016). The supratidal zone is above the average high tide point and examples of plants found here are wax myrtle, salt meadow hay ( Spartina patens ) and seaside goldenrod ( Solidago semperviens ) (Wilson 1981). These patterns appear to be mechanistically explained by extrapolating experimentally generated community assembly models and … The ecological zonation of salt marsh macrophytes is controlled by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors (Huckle et al., 2002). In this study, we examined plant zonation in an irregularly flooded marsh in southern Brazil. The general nature of the study site is described in historical geological hydrological and ecological context. We investigated the factors producing zonation patterns of the dominant plants in south‐eastern USA salt marshes where Juncus roemerianus dominates the high marsh, and Spartina alterniflora the middle and low marsh.. 2 . … Most studies of salt marsh plant zonation have been at middle to high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, in euhaline or periodically hypersaline marshes with regular tides. Evolution. The dataset has been developed from aerial imagery and ground survey data collected from the period 2006 to 2012. Salt marsh plant zonation varies across latitude, and is explained by climatic, tidal, edaphic and disturbance factors. 1 . An overview of the current literature on salt marsh ecology is discussed and a synopsis of local research of salt marshes is presented. [1] Vegetation zonation and tidal hydrology are basic attributes of intertidal salt marshes, but specific links among vegetation zonation, plant water use, and spatiotemporally dynamic hydrology have eluded thorough characterization. One theory suggests salt marsh vegetation has the ability to trap and accumulate sediment and is responsible for its own development and zonation. Juncus did not occur naturally in the Spartina zone and performed poorly when transplanted there, irrespective of whether neighbours were present or … The natural young marshes in eastern USA consist for the largest part of low marsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora.Nutrients are transported by tidal flooding through the tidal channels. courtesy of Mark Bertness. Plant Zonation in a Salt Marsh. Salt marshes evolve over time from young marshes to old marshes. The study of the factors affecting the ecological zonation of salt marsh macrophytes and its mechanisms is of particular significance to ecological protection and restoration work in the estuary area (Nicholls, 2004).