盐碱滩，又称盐沼，是沿海潮间带和陆地间的一种生态系统，海水或咸水有规律地涌入流出地带。这一地带主要生长盐土植物。[1][2]这些植物是陆生植物且耐盐碱。在水域食物链及海陆营养交换中盐碱滩扮演着重要的地位，此外次地带也为一些陆地生物的生存提供了支持。同时它起著海岸保护的作用。[2]
盐碱滩常出现在温带和极地的海岸线上，[3]有稳固、形成和淹没三种状态。通常盐碱滩有河流带来的沉积物形成的砂基或泥基，[4]且处于障壁岛、路堤、河口等有遮蔽之处。热带和亚热带因有红树林而不易形成盐碱滩，因为后者的生态是以草本植物为主导的。[1]
大多数盐碱滩的地势和海拔都很低，因为地带空旷，所以常有大量人口聚集。[5]根据实际地貌的差异，盐碱滩又可分为三角洲、开阔海岸、海湾和溺湾等等。欧洲等河流众多之处常见有三角洲盐碱滩。[2][6]
成因
潮滩随着沉积物不断堆积而升高，渐渐可以生长植物，[7]随着先锋种繁殖体的到达，此地生态开始改善。河流带来悬浮泥沙，[4]蓝绿藻可以固着沉积物，[8]加上新生的植物，[9]更使得堤岸愈来愈稳固。[10]
潮汐与植被带
沿海盐碱地与普通土地最大的区别在于其每日都有潮汐冲刷，造成该地持续积水。[1]这对盐碱地的营养积累有着重要积极影响。[5]除去这些低沼泽外，高沼泽因为地势较高可以减少潮汐冲刷的影响，因而盐度较低。[1]实际上盐碱滩的盐度依据气候时间的不同也会发生变化，例如下雨可以减少盐度而蒸发则使其增加。[1]因此根据生理适应能力的不同，该地带会形成不同的小环境。一般来说地势较低处的植被耐盐碱度较高，也可以承受水的浸泡。[11][12]
参考文献
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Adam, P (1990). Saltmarsh Ecology. Cambridge University Press. New York.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Woodroffe, CD (2002). Coasts: form, process and evolution. Cambridge University Press. New York.
- ↑ Allen, JRL, Pye, K (1992). Saltmarshes: morphodynamics, conservation, and engineering significance. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapman, V. J. (1974). Salt marshes and salt deserts of the world. Phyllis Claire Chapman, Germany.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bromberg-Gedan, K., Silliman, B. R., and Bertness, M. D. (2009). Centuries of human driven change in salt marsh ecosystems, Annual Review of Marine Science, 1: 117-141.
- ↑ Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand (2005-2010). Plants of the Estuary . Retrieved 15 March 2010
- ↑ Pethick, J. (1984). An introduction to coastal geomorphology. Edward Arnold, London.
- ↑ Ginsburg, R. N., and Lowenstam, H. A. (1958). The influence of marine bottom communities on the depositional environment of sediments. The Journal of Geology, 66: (3), 310-318.
- ↑ Bird, E. (2008). Coastal geomorphology: an introduction. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, West Sussex, England.
- ↑ Aspden, R. J., Vardy, S. and Paterson, D. M. (2004). Salt marsh microbial ecology: microbes, benthic mats and sediment movement. In Fagherazzi, S., Marani, M. and Blum, L. K. (Eds), The Ecogeomorphology of Tidal Marshes (pp. 115-136). American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.
- ↑ Bertness, MD, Ewanchuk, PJ, Silliman, BR (2002). Anthropogenic modification of New England salt marsh landscapes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99(3): 1395-1398.
- ↑ Rand, TA (2000). Seed Dispersal, Habitat Suitability and the Distribution of Halophytes across a Salt Marsh Tidal Gradient. Journal of Ecology 88(4): 608-621.
外部链接
- Friends of Famosa Slough
- Geography resource for schools
- Johnson, CY (2006). Cause sought as marshes turn into barren flats. The Boston Globe.
- Marine Nature Study Area operated by the Town of Hempstead: Dept. of Conservation & Waterways, located in Oceanside, New York, USA
- New England Sudden Wetland Dieback
- Salt Marsh Nature Center located in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn, New York, USA
