ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY


 NO. 18 SALT MARSH


OCCURRENCE

The Salt Marsh ecological community occurs along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
and inland along tidal rivers. An extensive area occurs along the Gulf of
Mexico north of Tarpon Springs to St. Marks.

DESCRIPTION

This community appears as an open expanse of grasses, sedges, and rushes.
Usually there is a matrix of interconnected shallow natural channels that aid
tidal influx.

1. Soils

 Soils commonly associated with this community are level, very poorly
 drained, muck or sandy clay loams underlain by loamy sand or organic soils
 underlain by clay or sand or are clayey throughout. Many of the soils
 have a aigh sulfur content. Some of the soils are soft and will not
 support rhe weight of a man or large animal. Tidal action causes
 saturation of the soil with salt water and inundation to a depth of a few
 inches. representative soils are: 3ohicket, Homosassa, Lacoochee,
 Tisonia, Turnbull, and Weekiwachee. Appendix A contains information on
 correlation of soil series with the appropriate ecological community.

 Vegetation

 Vegetation often occurs in distinct zones within the salt marsh complex as
 a result of water levels from tidal action and salinity concentrations in
 water and soils. Some species have a wide tolerance range and may be
 found throughout the grass marsh. Plants in this group are black
 aeedlerush and seashore saltgrass. Smooth cordgrass is more indicative of
 low, regularly flooded marsh, while the high marsh supports salt myrtle,
 marshhav cordgrass, marshelder, saltwort and sea oxeye. along the Gulf
 WoAst most marshes are dominated by black aeedlerush. Along che iorth
 Atlantic Coast, smooth cordgrass is usually dominant. plantss that
 characterize the salt marsh community are:

 EERBACEOUS PLANTS AND VINES Sea blite, Suaeda linearis; 3ea purslane,
 Sesuvium portulacastrum

 GRASSES AND GRASSLIKE PLANTS Big cordgrass, Spartina cynosuroides; Black
 needlerush, Juncus roemeiranus; Gulf cordgrass, 3parcina
 spartinae; Marshhay cordgrass, Spartina patens; Olney oulrush,
 Scripus americanus; Seashore dropseed, Sporobolus virginicus;
 Seashore paspalum, Paspalum vaginatum; Seashore saltgrass,
 Distichlis spicata; Shoregrass, Monanthochole littoralis;
 Smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora

 Information about other plants that occur in this community are in
 Appendix B.