| Abstract: | There is little published information about coastal salt marshes in south-western Australia, which are prominent in estuaries but absent from the high energy coastline. The zonation of the marshes of the Blackwood estuary resemble those in other parts of the world, in that Sarcocornia marsh occurs near the mouth, followed by rush marsh, with sedges further upstream, suggesting that salinity is a prime determining factor. Spartina and Phragmites are absent. The most exensive marsh is the Juncus kraussii rush community which is invaded by the paperbark tree, Melaleuca cuticularis. The sedge Baumea juncea forms a marsh community on the shores of the lower tidal river and a progression of species occurs with distance along the tidal river. A number of dynamic processes observed in these marshes are described and related to observations elsewhere |
