Salt Marshes

Download or read book Salt Marshes written by Judith S Weis and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-16 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tall green grass. Subtle melodies of songbirds. Sharp whines of muskrats. Rustles of water running through the grasses. And at low tide, a pungent reminder of the treasures hidden beneath the surface.All are vital signs of the great salt marshes' natural resources. Now championed as critical habitats for plants, animals, and people because of the environmental service and protection they provide, these ecological wonders were once considered unproductive wastelands, home solely to mosquitoes and toxic waste, and mistreated for centuries by the human population. Exploring the fascinating biodiversity of these boggy wetlands, Salt Marshes offers readers a wealth of essential information about a variety of plants, fish, and animals, the importance of these habitats, consequences of human neglect and thoughtless development, and insight into how these wetlands recover. Judith S. Weis and Carol A. Butler shed ample light on the human impact, including chapters on physical and biological alterations, pollution, and remediation and recovery programs. In addition to a national and global perspective, the authors place special emphasis on coastal wetlands in the Atlantic and Gulf regions, as well as the San Francisco Bay Area, calling attention to their historical and economic legacies. Written in clear, easy-to-read language, Salt Marshes proves that the battles for preservation and conservation must continue, because threats to salt marshes ebb and flow like the water that runs through them.

Download or read book Salt Marshes written by Duncan M. FitzGerald and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-22 with total page 499 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A multidisciplinary review of salt marshes, describing how they function and respond to external pressures such as sea-level rise.

Download or read book The World of the Salt Marsh written by Charles Seabrook and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World of the Salt Marsh is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast—its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival. Focusing on areas from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Charles Seabrook examines the ecological importance of the salt marsh, calling it “a biological factory without equal.” Twice-daily tides carry in a supply of nutrients that nourish vast meadows of spartina (Spartina alterniflora)—a crucial habitat for creatures ranging from tiny marine invertebrates to wading birds. The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration. Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast’s bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer. For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or “improved” for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places.

Download or read book Human Impacts on Salt Marshes written by Brian R. Silliman and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2009-06-03 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Human Impacts on Salt Marshes provides an excellent global synthesis of an important, underappreciated environmental problem and suggests solutions to the diverse threats affecting salt marshes."—Peter B. Moyle, University of California, Davis

Download or read book Day in the Salt Marsh, A written by Kevin Kurtz and published by Arbordale Publishing. This book was released on 2007-07-10 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduces young readers to hourly changes in the salt marsh as the tide comes and goes, following the animals that have adapted to this ever-changing environment as they hunt for food or play in the sun.

Download or read book Salt Marsh Diary written by Mark Seth Lender and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-03-29 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author chronicles the daily life of a salt marsh as observed from his nearby home, where he also records in intricate detail the activities of regional birds.

Download or read book Ecology of Dunes, Salt Marsh and Shingle written by J.R. Packham and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1997-09-30 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summary: Discusses coastal sand dune, shingle beach, and salt marsh ecosystems, communities based upon relatively unconsolidated granular deposits which frequently rest upon solid rock or, much more rarely, on peat.