The Mangrove Swamp and Salt Marsh Communities of the Sydney District: I. Vegetation, Soils and Climate

Abstract

An explanation for the wide variation in distinctiveness of zonation of the dominant plant species occurring in the mangrove swamps and salt marsh communities of the Sydney district is discussed. Variation in vegetation pattern and species composition between different localities in the Sydney district was described. The soils associated with each vegetation zone were investigated. Details of soil profile characteristics, particle size distribution, loss on ignition, field moisture content, bulk density, infiltration by water, cation exchange capacity and pH are presented. The soil does not play a major role in controlling plant distribution patterns, nor does the plant reaction upon the soil provide decisive evidence for a seral interpretation of these communities. Consideration of the climate and its role in salt circulation and plant establishment indicates that it plays a minor role in the holocoenotic complex. The significance of physiography and associated factors and of the physiological requirements of the plants is foreshadowed.