MarineGEO Salt Marsh Habitat Monitoring Protocol

Coastal salt marshes are biogenic wetland habitats defined by regular inundation with salt water from tides. Plant species diversity is typically low and comprised of salt and submersion-tolerant species. Salt marshes provide a variety of services including erosion protection, essential habitats for fish and invertebrates, nutrient filtering, and carbon sequestration. Principal threats include coastal development, accelerating sea level rise, and pollution from land-based sources. Salt marshes have a near-global distribution although they are most prevalent along protected shorelines in the mid to high latitudes. Given their widespread occurrence and position at the land-sea interface, salt marshes are ideal ecosystems to examine responses to global change.

We thank Merryl Alber, Matt Ferner, and Christine Angelini for thoughtful feedback on the initial draft of these protocols.