Studies in Salt-Marsh Ecology: Sections VI and VII. Comparison with Marshes on the East Coast of North America

Abstract

The observations reported here were carried out in 1935-36. An analysis was made of a) tides, b) water table, c) drainage, d) aeration, e) salinity. So far as the tidal phenomena are concerned it is doubtful whether the marshes around Boston can be divided into upper and lower marshes, although the one at Cold Spring Harbor, L. I. can be. The presence of an aerated layer in the upper surface of the soil was demonstrated. Neither drainage nor the water table factors would appear to account for the Spartina alterniflora zones. The salinity of the soil is shown to undergo two reversals of gradient vertically, one in the spring and one in autumn. A detailed description is given of 11 algal communities from Lynn marsh. In the final section a comparison is made between the species common to Lynn marsh, Long Island marsh and Scott marshes (England) in an attempt to determine the factors controlling their distribution.