ABSTRACT

Throughout the world, wherever shorelines are protected from the direct action of waves, the land lying between high and low tides supports wetland vegetation. Where coastal lands are flat, this intertidal zone may be huge, permeated with rivers and tributary streams that carry the ebb and flow of tidal waters through the wetlands. In temperate climates, protected intertidal habitats are dominated by various grasses and related herbaceous (non-woody) plants. In northern Florida’s gulf and Atlantic coasts, where sufficient protection exists, the intertidal areas are salt marshes, dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and black rush (Juncus roemerianus). While both of these species are found in southern Florida, they are restricted to much smaller areas by a completely different intertidal community: the mangrove swamp.