Salt marsh dieback, or salt marsh browning, is the primary force in salt marsh degradation. The general effect is that the plants in the marsh die off and brown, leaving dead organic matter, and ultimately open sediment. Without strong plant roots holding the sediment, these open areas of land erode, causing the salt marsh to retreat back to the mainland. Dieback zones lack their main producers, such as the salt marsh cord grass, or Spartina alterniflora, and ultimately become completely unproductive.
Read more about Salt Marsh Dieback: Overview of Hypotheses, Waterlogging Hypothesis, Salinity Hypothesis
Famous quotes containing the word salt:
“Today is made of yesterday, each time I steal
toward rites I do not know, waiting for the lost
ingredient, as if salt or money or even lust
would keep us calm and prove us whole at last.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)