Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh
These brackish to salt intertidal marshes of the embayed region of southeastern Virginia and adjacent North Carolina are distinguished by the extensive brackish water and tidal flooding driven by winds that is characteristic of that region. Low-diversity marshes that may be dominated by only one plant species are found on intertidal flats. They are generally cut off from direct ocean influence by a series of protective barrier islands. Embedded within the matrix of marshes are smaller salt pannes that are very salty. The vegetation is primarily herbaceous marsh, most of it dominated by black needlerush. Areas near tidal inlets have salt marsh dominated by cordgrass. There are also salt flats dominated by saltgrass and swampfire, as well as salt-tolerant shrublands and a few treed hammocks that occur on small elevated areas closely associated with the marshes. For more information, see NatureServe Explorer.
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