Table 5-14. The Relationship of Vertical Range of the Three Principal 

 Salt Marsh Emergents in the Franklin and Salisbury Cove 

 Salt Marsh Near Ellsworth, ME.^ 



Species 



Maximum Minimum 



level level 



(ft. above MLW) (ft. above MLW) 



Cordgrass 



Cordgrass (creekbank) 



Salt hay 



Black rush (high marsh) 



Black rush (creekbank) 



9.2 



9.9 



10.2 



13.0 



12.8 



8.0 

 7.6 

 9.4 

 9.6 

 11.6 



Range 

 (ft.) 



1.2 

 2.3 

 0.9 

 3.3 

 1.2 



Linthurst 1977, 



High marsh black rush exhibits the widest vertical range of distribution, some 

 3.3 feet (1 m) in a Maine salt marsh. This is not unusual for high marsh 

 species. As submergence time and number of inundations decrease more widely 

 adapted species invade the high marsh, increasing competition and diversity. 

 The critical level below which black rush does not grow appears to be the 

 optimum habitat for salt hay. 



The period of submergence of the high marsh is only about 1.5% at 10.6 feet 

 (3.2 m) above MLW, which is the approximate mean high water mark in coastal 

 Maine. At 8.6 feet (2.6 m) above MLW, the cordgrass zone, submergence time is 

 at least 11.9%. 



Although inundation is important, the dissolved salts in tidal water are 

 critical in determining the type, vigor, and distribution of plant life. 

 Plants in salt marshes have different salinity tolerances (Chapman 1940a; 

 figure 5-43). For instance, high soil-sediment salinities may reduce the 

 growth of cordgrass (Mooring et al. 1971; and Broome et al. 1973). 



In New England, a distinct zonation pattern based on dominant vegetation 

 exists in coastal salt marsh ecosystems (Miller and Egler 1950; Niering 1961; 

 and Fiske et al. 1966). As in other coastal areas the vegetative zonation is 

 a reflection of the hydrographic , chemical, and biologial factors influencing 

 coastal emergent salt marshes. Penfound (1952) listed the following physical 

 parameters as important factors affecting the plant distribution in the 



5-113 



10-80 



