Salt-marsh communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system

This article gives an overview of the salt-marsh communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.

Introduction

The salt-marsh communities of the NVC were described in Volume 5 of British Plant Communities, first published in 2000, along with the other maritime communities (those of shingle strandline and sand-dunes and maritime cliffs) and vegetation of open habitats.

In total, 28 salt-marsh communities have been identified.

The salt-marsh communities consist of four separate subgroups:

three eel-grass and tassel-weed communities of tidal flats, pools and ditches (SM1, SM2 and SM3)
thirteen communities of the lower salt-marsh (SM4, SM5, SM6, SM7, SM8, SM9, SM10, SM11, SM12, SM13, SM14, SM15 and SM26)
nine communities of the middle salt-marsh (SM16, SM17, SM18, SM19, SM20, SM21, SM22, SM23 and SM27)
three communities of the upper salt-marsh (SM24, SM25 and SM28)

Other communities occurring on salt-marshes

There are a number of other communities which occur on salt-marshes, but are not classified as salt-marsh communities within the NVC. Those listed in British Plant Communities are as follows:

List of salt-marsh communities

The following is a list of the communities that make up this category:

External links

Salt-marsh Communities, excerpted from book 5