SALT MARSH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does salt marsh mean? 

• SALT MARSH (noun)
  The noun SALT MARSH has 1 sense:

1. low-lying wet land that is frequently flooded with saltwater

  Familiarity information: SALT MARSH used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SALT MARSH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Low-lying wet land that is frequently flooded with saltwater

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("salt marsh" is a kind of...):

fen; fenland; marsh; marshland (low-lying wet land with grassy vegetation; usually is a transition zone between land and water)

 Context examples 

This study shows that human activities are affecting bacteria essential to salt marshes in ways we never suspected.

(Changing salt marsh conditions send resident microbes into dormancy, NSF)

In the Southeastern U.S., salt marshes have endured massive grass die-offs as a result of intense drought, which can affect everything from fisheries to water quality.

(Biodiversity in salt marshes builds climate resilience, NSF)

This research suggests that when nitrate is abundant, a change occurs in the microbial community in salt marsh sediments that increases the microbes' capacity to degrade organic matter.

(Salt marshes' capacity to store carbon may be threatened by nitrogen pollution, National Science Foundation)

As a result, alligators' use of salty environments such as near-shore marine areas, mangrove swamps and salt marshes was, until recently, thought of as unusual behavior and of little ecological importance.

(Alligators, rulers of the swamps, link marine and freshwater ecosystems, NSF)

When the microbes go dormant, they don't contribute to the critical ecosystem services that make salt marshes important.

(Changing salt marsh conditions send resident microbes into dormancy, NSF)

The researchers are already working on the next phase of their research, analyzing the microbial community responsible for degrading carbon in a salt marsh ecosystem, especially when exposed to high concentrations of nitrate.

(Salt marshes' capacity to store carbon may be threatened by nitrogen pollution, National Science Foundation)

Now, new research shows that a mutualistic relationship — where two organisms benefit from each other's activities — between ribbed mussels and salt marsh grasses may play a critical role in helping salt marshes bounce back from extreme climate events such as drought.

(Biodiversity in salt marshes builds climate resilience, NSF)

Coastal salt marshes provide many benefits — supporting diverse wildlife, helping to reduce pollution, and protecting us from flooding.

(Changing salt marsh conditions send resident microbes into dormancy, NSF)

This previously unknown effect of nitrate, a common pollutant, shows how complex ecosystem interactions could result in reducing the carbon-holding ability of salt marshes said Michael Sieracki, program director for Biological Oceanography.

(Salt marshes' capacity to store carbon may be threatened by nitrogen pollution, National Science Foundation)

The study's results help explain why salt marshes contain so much microbial diversity.

(Changing salt marsh conditions send resident microbes into dormancy, NSF)