Nature’s Health Program: The Salt Marsh.
Contributed By: Krista Schmidt, Assistant Naturalist Fripp Island Resort.
When one thinks of the Lowcountry, a salt marsh usually comes to mind. The waving grasses, the smell of the pluff mud, the popping of the oysters, and the flow of the water all come together to create the beautiful marshes we call home. The salt marsh is a diverse ecosystem that houses many different organisms, from wading birds to crabs to dolphins. But the salt marsh does more than just provide habitat. Salt marshes provide many ecosystem services, including water purification, erosion and flood control, and carbon sequestration. All of these services contribute to a healthy environment, and are important reasons why salt marshes
must be preserved. So how does the salt marsh provide all these benefits? One of the most important functions of the marsh is maintaining water quality. The main components that contribute to water quality are the oysters, the spartina grass, the suspended sediment, and the tides. First, the oysters that make up the large reefs in the marsh are excellent filter feeders. A single oyster is able to filter around 50 gallons of water a day. Through this process, they help remove excess nitrogen from the water. Too much nitrogen - often from runoff- can be
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