The Saltmarsh
This is the Saltmarsh at Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve which is a mosaic of different plants and specialized animals that can cope with the conditions that a Saltmarsh brings. The many plants here have adapted to live with high amounts of salt which would kill many other less-specialized plants.
Saltmarsh Plants
The different plants here all live at various levels of the marsh depending on the level of salt they can tolerate. The Glassworts are the pioneers of the Saltmarsh followed by Cord-grass. Cord-grass can trap and stabilize up to 10cm of sediment a year. This helps to build islands where other less salt tolerate plants can get established. Here is a list of Saltmarsh plants I found here today.
Common Sea-lavender Common Sea-lavender Sea-purslane Sea Rocket Sea Club-rush Aster Round-fruited Rush Common Glasswort Prickly Saltwort Sea Beet Sea Buckthorn Annual Sea-blite Sea Sand-wort Frosted Orache Marram Grass
The Saltmarsh is home to many animals including many wading birds and invertebrates such as this Dune Robberfly.
Above: Black-headed Gull
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