FNR 45400 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Halophyte, Salicornia, Pioneer Species
13 Feb 2019
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Terms to know: detritus- dead particulate organic material. Estuaries have low plant biomass and primary production due to turbidity of the water, which makes it challenging for light to penetrate. In addition, the lack of hard substrate makes it difficult for many phytoplankton to colonize there. Detritus can enter estuaries as either autochthonous material, such as seagrasses, or allochthonous material, such as leaves falling into the water. In recent years, stable isotopes have been used to determine where detritus and other food sources are originating from. Saltmarshes are most important in low-lying coastal estuarine areas. Saltmarshes, like estuaries, display low plant diversity, but do have halophytes. Salinity and flooding are important factors in species distribution in saltmarshes. At the marsh interface, pioneer species can be found as they are responsible for stabilizing the substratum and are often the main primary producers in the system. Fleshy herbs and grasses are found behind pioneer species, such as.
