50 1 



40 



CO 



UJ 



o 



LU 

 Q. 

 If) 



a: 



UJ 



m 



30- 



20- 



UPPER BORDER 

 108 Species 



UPPER SLOPES 

 16 Species 



LOWER SLOPES 

 10 Species 



STUNTED SPARTINA 

 12 Species 



LOWER BORDERS 

 5 Species 



Rosa 

 Carolina, 



Myrica 



carulinensis, 



CI odium 



moriscoides, 



Panicum 

 Solidago virgatum, 



gramini folia, Convolvulus 

 S. sempervirens sepium, 



A grosfis 

 palustris, 



Festuga 

 rubra 



Limonium 

 carolinianum. 

 Aster 

 fenuifolius 



Juncus 

 gerardi, 



Disfichlis 

 spicoto, 



Solicornia 

 europea 



Spartina 

 patens, 



D is tic Mis 

 spicota 



Salicornia 

 europea 



v' europea i t— i c 



Spartina 

 alterniflora 

 Salicornia 



europea 



n n n 



\k 



Spartina 

 alterniflora 



100 



50 



100 



50 



100 



50 



100 



RELATIVE OCCURRENCE, % of test quadrats 



Figure 16. Relative diversity, dominance, and major species composition of 

 vegetation zones described by Miller and Egler (1950) at the Wequetequock- 



Pawcatuck marshes in Connecticut. In 

 present in 80% to 90% or 90% to 100% 

 in the upper border 108 plant species 

 to 90% of the quadrats sampled, and 

 all quadrats. Almost 50 species were 

 the quadrats. 



each zone, species listed are those 

 of the sample quadrats. For example, 

 were found; 5 species occurred in 80% 

 4 species occurred in 90% to 100% of 

 rare and only found in 1% to 10% of 



on the marshes' whereas we now 

 estimate it covers only 16 

 percent of the marshes, or is 

 less than one-quarter as common 



as S^. alterniflora , 

 described Juncus 

 'undoubtedly the 

 prominent plant., 

 there now appears 

 than 30 acres of 



Taylor also 

 gerardi as 



next most 



. , ' whereas 



to be fewer 



J . gerardi . " 



25 



The loss of high marsh appears 

 to be due to its susceptibility to 

 filling and development, and it may be 

 the lack of man's influence as much as 

 any feature of geography that is 

 responsible for the relative abundance 

 of high marsh in northern New England 

 their recent summary of 

 in the United States, 

 Baumann (1980) reported 



(Table 5). In 

 wetland loss 

 Gosselink and 



