The [Online] Field guide to Common Saltmarsh Plants of Queensland, is a web adaption of the Field Guide to Common Saltmarsh Plants of Queensland, written by Louise Johns for the Queensland Government, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F). The content of the site has been reproduced in accoradance with the copyright statement detailed in original published work and with the expressed permision of the Managing Director of Fisheries Queensland, Jim Groves. The original guide can be order from the DPI&F. At time of writing the item was awaiting reprint. Any questions regarding the online adaption of the field guide shoulf be referred to
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, Principal Consultant (Division of Scientific and Agricultural Computing), Alocasia Consulting Pty Ltd.
Introduction
What are saltmarshes?
Saltmarshes are important inter-tidal wetland plant communities made up of a mosaic of succulents, grasses, low shrubs and saltpans. They commonly occur in upper inter-tidal zones between the mangrove fringe and more terrestrial vegetation.
In most instances, saltmarshes are not subject to daily inundation by tides, but are flooded on king or spring tides. Due to the lack of regular flushing, these areas contain high levels of salt and low levels of oxygen in the soil and the vegetation has adapted to the harsh conditions. Halophytic (salt tolerant) vegetation occurs in saltmarshes and includes succulents, sedges, grasses and algae.
Saltmarshes are known to contribute to fisheries productivity by providing direct habitat for juvenile fish and invertebrates. Production of detritus and nutrients also adds to the food web cycle in estuarine areas adjacent to saltmarsh (Connolly, 1999). Crab and gastropod larvae released within the saltmarsh community provide an important diet for juvenile fish (Hollingsworth and Connolly, 2004; Mazumderetal., 2004).
There are approximately 6900 km2 of saltmarsh in Queensland, which represents more than a third of the total area of saltmarsh in Australia (15 195 km2) (De Vries et al., 2002). Higher proportions of saltmarshes are found in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Shoalwater Coast area (Figure 1), primarily due to low gradient topography and tidal influences on a local level.
In contrast to mangrove and seagrass species, saltmarsh species diversity progressively decreases moving north along the east coast of Australia (Dale and Knight, 2003). While vegetation diversity within saltmarshes may be low, there is often a clear zonation from high to low elevations. Also, there is often a defined soil variation through saltmarsh, where silt and sediments accrete around vegetation at lower levels on the saltmarsh and clay formations are found at higher levels (Adam, 1990). During periods of low rainfall and no tidal influence, vegetation often retreats leaving exposed saltpan areas.
