SM8: Annual Salicornia salt-marsh community: Salicornietum europaeae Warming 1906

Summary

Constant species

Several distinct taxa can be recognised among the British annual Salicornias but diagnosis below the level of the three groups S. europaea, S. procumbens and S. pusilla is difficult for non-specialists. Here, all annual taxa encountered are described under Salicornia agg. and this is the sole constant of the community.

Rare species

Arthrocnemum perenne.

Physiognomy

The community comprises ephemeral stands of annual Salicornias sometimes with no other species. The vegetation is invariably somewhat open and though Salicornia agg. is always conspicuous, the density of plants is variable: around The Wash, for example, Salicornia agg. cover is high whereas at sites with sandier substrates the density can be very low. There is often an algal mat over the substrate surface but vascular companions are usually very few. Scattered plants of Puccinellia maritima, Suaeda maritima and Spartina anglica occur frequently with occasional records for a variety of other lower marsh species. At a few sites (Blakeney Point, for example), Fucus vesiculosus ecad caespitosus is abundant.

Sub-communities

With careful identification of distinct taxa, it may be possible to define a range of communities within this broad general unit as a number of Continental authors have done (see, for example, Géhu & Delzenne 1975). Ball & Tutin (1959) recommend collecting a dozen specimens from populations in September/October when the characteristic colours have developed.