A marsh is a wetland with herbaceous vegetation that does not have trees. There are freshwater and saltwater marshes and the distinguishing characteristics are plants and animals which inhabit the areas. For example, typically birds feed but do not nest in saltwater marshes. The plants in saltwater marshes are capable of tolerating episodes of salinity. The opposite is typical of freshwater marshes and swamps. Please see Florida Marsh Exploration. Part I
The featured image is an overview of the marsh as seem from the observation deck.
Trees generally do not survive in wetlands such as marshes because they are constantly wet, however, swamps generally do have trees because there are seasonal dry periods. The plants typically found in marshes are obligate water plants that depend on a long hydroperiod.
The following photographs illustrate the plants and animals which I saw during the three episodes into a saltwater marsh described in the previous publication. This marsh in the slough of Bonita Bay Community is attempting to recover from hurricane Ian in 2022. There was damage which is still unresolved. This can only be done by replacing the salt water with fresh water. This is complicated because of the greater density of the salt water which sinks to the bottom of the pond and does not freely mix with freshwater. Despite some plant’s salt tolerance they have been overburdened by more salt than they can tolerate. Mangroves thrive in these environments.
The very dense overgrowth of duckweed that you can see in the photographs of the surface of the ponds blocks the sunlight from the below surface water and depletes the oxygen of the pond. The oxygen depletion kills fish and without sunlight below the surface new plants can’t thrive. On the beneficial side the plants could be used for bioremediation of waterways by capturing and removing excessive amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen.
During and after the flood caused by hurricane Ian in 2022 the plants have been inundated for months by salt water. The salt water is drawn up into all reaches of the plant by capillary action through their vascular systems. At the cellular level, osmotic action of the semipermeable cell wall draws the non salty water out of the cell. The salt water does not enter the cell because the water is withdrawn from the cell and it becomes dehydrated and dies.
Coming later we will explore the difference between the fresh water marshes of Florida and of the Okavango delta in Botswana.
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