Saltmarsh Conservation, Management and Restoration: Saltmarshes (Coastal Systems and Continental Margins Book 12)

Coastal habitats provide the link between the land and the sea. They are dynamic, combine to form ecosystems of great complexity and provide significant areas for wildlife. Their landscapes are treasured by visitors, painters and musicians. They also provide locations for significant economic activity and are intimately bound up with fisheries, providing food and shelter for some species of commercially exploited fish stocks. The habitats themselves provide a buffer to tides and wave action, which may be particularly important in areas where relative sea level is rising and during storm periods. Managing these assets in the face of continuing pressure from human populations on a sustainable basis is a major task. This book series will look at each of the main coastal habitats - saltmarshes, sand dunes and sand/shingle shores, modified coastal grazing marshes/salinas and sea cliffs in turn. Each habitat will be described in relation to its natural development and the way this has been influenced by human actions. The different states in which the habitats exist will be reviewed against the pressures exerted upon them. Options for management will be considered and the likely consequences of taking a particular course of action will be highlighted. These options will include the traditional approaches to management (for the conservation of wildlife and landscapes) as well as habitat restoration. The way the value of the areas change under different management regimes will be considered from both a socio-economic and environmental perspective. This book series looks at each of the main coastal habitats – salt marshes, sand dunes and sand/shingle shores, modified coastal grazing marshes/salinas and sea cliffs in turn. Each habitat is described in relation to its natural development and the way this has been influenced by human actions. The different states in which the habitats exist are reviewed against the pressures exerted upon them. Options for management are considered and the likely consequences of taking a particular course of action are highlighted. Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction....Pages 1-16 Human Influences....Pages 17-31 Nature Conservation....Pages 32-47 States and Values....Pages 48-73 The Physical States....Pages 74-89 Physical States, Restoration Methods....Pages 90-107 Vegetation States....Pages 108-125 Grazing Management....Pages 126-138 Spartina....Pages 139-164 Conclusions....Pages 165-186 Back Matter....Pages 187-218 CD-ROM contains: Full color versions of the figures which are printed in black-and-white in the book