The traditional saltpans of the Ria de Aveiro are centuries old structures built and maintained by Man who has been producing salt since ancient times. These structures were built in salt marsh areas, sediments platforms where a very particular dense cover of vegetation settles; it is submerged during high tide and exposed at low tide. The vegetation is designated halophyte, since it is a vegetation resistant to salinity.
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The salt marsh is one of the most productive areas of the biosphere relating to the production of living matter or biomass. Nutrients are transported by the constant movement of the ebb and flow of the tides, by sediments from the mainland, by living beings that stick in the marsh and decompose there.
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Flora
The traditional saltpans
Saltpans flora The predominant flora in saltpans is the characteristic flora of the salt marshes and we can highlight the Common Glasswort (Sarcocornia perennis), the Purple Glasswort (Salicornia ramosissima), the Sea Purslane (Halimione portulacoides) and the Small Cordgrass (Spartina maritima). In smaller quantities, but also characteristic of this habitat, we can find the Sea Aster (Aster tripolium subsp. Pannonicus), the Salt Sand-spurrey (Spergularia marina), the Sea Arrowgrass (Triglochin maritima), the Golden Samphire (Inula crithmoides), the Brass Buttons (Cotula coronopifolia), the Alkali Seepweed (Suaeda vera) and the Common Sea Lavender (Limonium vulgare). On the most remote edges of the marsh, sea rush (Juncus maritimus) extensions arise. The increasing proportion of fresh water favors the onset of hygrophytes species, including reed (Phragmites australis). The pure population development of this species is called reeds and, in this floristic formation, there are favorable conditions for shelter and nesting of several aquatic species, particularly birds.
The dikes and embankments of saltpans are colonized by vegetation typical of salt marshes and therefore, we can observe all species previously referred to in this ecosystem. Besides these characteristic species, we can also often observe the tamarisk (Tamarix africana) as scrubland stretching along the saltpans. Halophyte plants in food Some of the existing saltpan halophytes such as the Salicornia ramosissima and Sarcocornia perennis, but especially the Salicornia, are increasingly used in human food. Commonly known as Herb-of-salads, it is a plant rich in proteins and vitamins, and it is low-calorie. It can be eaten raw, chopped and mixed in salads by replacing salt as flavouring. Their potential as food does not stop there and samphire is increasingly used in gourmet cuisine, mainly as a substitute for the salt, but also for its texture and appearance, being appreciated for creative specialties of great refinement.