SM9: Suaeda maritima salt-marsh community: Suaedetum maritimae (Conrad 1935) Pignatti 1953

Summary

Synonymy

Suaeda maritima nodum Adam 1976; Salicornietum auct. p.p.

Constant species

Suaeda maritima is a variable taxon within which a number of distinct forms have been recognised. These are sometimes treated as varieties (e.g. Chapman 1947, Clapham et al. 1962) or as species. Ball (1964) has a single sub-species S. maritima maritima to include all British material. This is the only constant taxon of the community.

Physiognomy

This is a species-poor community, generally open, though always dominated by Suaeda maritima the density of which is normally high. There is sometimes a little annual Salicornia, Puccinellia maritima, Spartina anglica, Halimione portulacoides and Aster tripolium var. discoideus. An algal mat is quite common and Chapman (1947) lists seven different algal assemblages associated with abundant Suaeda maritima.

Sub-communities

Variation within the community is continuous, though the predominance in particular stands of different forms of Suaeda maritima has been used by some (e.g. Géhu 1975) to assign such stands to different communities. However, diagnosis is often difficult and there seem to be few consistent ecological differences between the taxa.

Habitat

Suaeda maritima is an annual and it is tolerant of a wide range of soil types subject to various submersion regimes: Chapman (1947) reported it dominant on Norfolk marshes with between 290 and 430 submergences/year.