Salt Marsh

A salt marsh is a place that has salt water, tides, and unique plants that are food for animals that live in the marsh, the oceans, and even the land.

Because they produce so much plant material, scientists consider salt marshes to be one of the most productive ecosystems on earth.

Other reasons salt marshes are important are because they serve as a nursery habitat for many species of marine life and provide refuge for birds. They act as a big sponge that soaks up storm-water surges and take up nutrients in runoff from surrounding land before they go into the ocean.