Mitsch, W. J., and Gosselink, J. G., 2000. Wetlands, 3rd edn.
New York: Wiley.
Prance, G. T., 1979. Notes on the vegetation of Amazonia III. The
terminology of Amazonian forest types subject to inundation.
Brittonia, 31, 26–38.
Reef, R., Feller, I. C., and Lovelock, C. E., 2010. Nutrition of
mangroves. Tree Physiology, 30, 1148–1160.
Rheinhardt, R. D., and Hershner, C., 1992. The relationship of
below-ground hydrology to canopy composition in five tidal
freshwater swamps. Wetlands, 12, 208–216.
Saintilan, N., Rogers, K., and McKee, K. L., 2009. Salt marshmangrove interactions in Australasia and the Americas. In
Gerardo, M. E. P., Wolanski, E., Cahoon, D. R., and Brinson,
M. M. (eds.), Coastal Wetlands: An Integrated Ecosystem
Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 855–883.
Smith, T. J., III, 1992. Forest structure. In Robertson, A. I., and
Alongi, D. M. (eds.), Tropical Mangrove Ecosystems.
Washington: American Geophysical Union, pp. 101–136.
Spalding, M., Kainuma, M., and Collins, L., 2010. World Atlas of
Mangroves. London: Earthscan.
Struyf, E., Jacobs, S., Meire, P., Jensen, K., and Barendregt, A., 2009.
Plant communities of European tidal freshwater wetlands. In
Barendregt, A., Whigham, D. F., and Baldwin, A. H. (eds.), Tidal
Freshwater Wetlands. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, pp. 59–70.
Traill, L. W., Perhans, K., Lovelock, C. E., Prohaska, A., Mcfallan,
S., Rhodes, J. R., and Wilson, K. A., 2011. Managing for change:
wetland transitions under sea-level rise and outcomes for threatened species. Diversity and Distributions, 17, 1225–1233.
Verhoeven, J. T. A., Whigham, D. F., van Logtestijn, R., and
O’Neill, J., 2001. A comparative study of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in tidal and non-tidal riverine wetlands. Wetlands, 21,
210–222.
Cross-references
Climate Change
Coastal Wetlands
Intertidal Zonation
Mangroves
Marine/Freshwater Mixing
Nutrient Limitation
Pneumatophores
Saltmarshes
Tidal Freshwater Habitat
Wetlands
FRINGING REEF
David M. Kennedy
Department of Resource Management & Geography,
The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Definition
A fringing reef is a shore-attached coral framework structure.
Description
Fringing reefs form close to shore, most often being shore
attached, and are relatively thin veneers over non-reefal substrate (Steers and Stoddart, 1977). Fringing reefs can form as
a continuous reef flat projecting from the shoreline or may
be backed by a shallow lagoon sometimes termed a boat
channel (Guilcher, 1988). For a reef to be classed as fringing
the lagoon, it should have a maximum depth of 10 m
(Milliman, 1974). Fringing reefs represent the first evolutionary stage of Charles Darwin’s (1842) theory of coral
atoll evolution when the coral reefs establish on the shoreline of a volcanic island in the open ocean. Gradual subsidence of the volcanic island leads to the fringing reef
evolving into a barrier reef as vertical coral growth is
maintained on the reef crest. Eventually, the central island
sinks below the sea surface, leading to the formation of
a coral atoll. The growth and form of a fringing reef is
strongly influenced by the available accommodation space
determined by the position of the antecedent surface on
which the reef establishes in relation to sea level and the rate
of sedimentation (Kennedy and Woodroffe, 2002). Fringing
reefs may grow vertically to the sea surface in a keep-up or
catch-up mode, having been established on a newly flooded
substrate during a period of rising sea level. Fringing reefs
may also initiate at the same elevation as a stable sea surface,
prograding horizontally as a reef framework or over
non-reefal sediments. Progradation can be characterized by
progressive lateral accretion, but in some cases it may be
episodic, occurring through the attachment of fore-reef coral
bommies or patch reefs onto the reef front. In some cases
fringing reefs may establish just offshore of a landmass
either as a framework deposit or on top of an accumulation
of storm-deposited rubble (Kennedy and Woodroffe, 2002).
Bibliography
Darwin, C. R., 1842. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs.
London: Smith, Elder and Company.
Guilcher, A., 1988. Coral Reef Geomorphology. New York: Wiley.
Kennedy, D. M., and Woodroffe, C. D., 2002. Fringing reef growth
and morphology: a review. Earth Science Reviews, 57, 255–277.
Milliman, J. D., 1974. Marine Carbonates. Berlin: Springer.
Steers, J. A., and Stoddart, D. R., 1977. The origin of fringing reefs,
barrier reefs, and atolls. In Jones, O. A., and Endean, R. (eds.),
Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs. New York: Academic
Press, pp. 21–57.
Cross-references
Artificial Reef
Oyster Reef
338
FRINGING REEF
New York: Wiley.
Prance, G. T., 1979. Notes on the vegetation of Amazonia III. The
terminology of Amazonian forest types subject to inundation.
Brittonia, 31, 26–38.
Reef, R., Feller, I. C., and Lovelock, C. E., 2010. Nutrition of
mangroves. Tree Physiology, 30, 1148–1160.
Rheinhardt, R. D., and Hershner, C., 1992. The relationship of
below-ground hydrology to canopy composition in five tidal
freshwater swamps. Wetlands, 12, 208–216.
Saintilan, N., Rogers, K., and McKee, K. L., 2009. Salt marshmangrove interactions in Australasia and the Americas. In
Gerardo, M. E. P., Wolanski, E., Cahoon, D. R., and Brinson,
M. M. (eds.), Coastal Wetlands: An Integrated Ecosystem
Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 855–883.
Smith, T. J., III, 1992. Forest structure. In Robertson, A. I., and
Alongi, D. M. (eds.), Tropical Mangrove Ecosystems.
Washington: American Geophysical Union, pp. 101–136.
Spalding, M., Kainuma, M., and Collins, L., 2010. World Atlas of
Mangroves. London: Earthscan.
Struyf, E., Jacobs, S., Meire, P., Jensen, K., and Barendregt, A., 2009.
Plant communities of European tidal freshwater wetlands. In
Barendregt, A., Whigham, D. F., and Baldwin, A. H. (eds.), Tidal
Freshwater Wetlands. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers, pp. 59–70.
Traill, L. W., Perhans, K., Lovelock, C. E., Prohaska, A., Mcfallan,
S., Rhodes, J. R., and Wilson, K. A., 2011. Managing for change:
wetland transitions under sea-level rise and outcomes for threatened species. Diversity and Distributions, 17, 1225–1233.
Verhoeven, J. T. A., Whigham, D. F., van Logtestijn, R., and
O’Neill, J., 2001. A comparative study of nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in tidal and non-tidal riverine wetlands. Wetlands, 21,
210–222.
Cross-references
Climate Change
Coastal Wetlands
Intertidal Zonation
Mangroves
Marine/Freshwater Mixing
Nutrient Limitation
Pneumatophores
Saltmarshes
Tidal Freshwater Habitat
Wetlands
FRINGING REEF
David M. Kennedy
Department of Resource Management & Geography,
The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
Definition
A fringing reef is a shore-attached coral framework structure.
Description
Fringing reefs form close to shore, most often being shore
attached, and are relatively thin veneers over non-reefal substrate (Steers and Stoddart, 1977). Fringing reefs can form as
a continuous reef flat projecting from the shoreline or may
be backed by a shallow lagoon sometimes termed a boat
channel (Guilcher, 1988). For a reef to be classed as fringing
the lagoon, it should have a maximum depth of 10 m
(Milliman, 1974). Fringing reefs represent the first evolutionary stage of Charles Darwin’s (1842) theory of coral
atoll evolution when the coral reefs establish on the shoreline of a volcanic island in the open ocean. Gradual subsidence of the volcanic island leads to the fringing reef
evolving into a barrier reef as vertical coral growth is
maintained on the reef crest. Eventually, the central island
sinks below the sea surface, leading to the formation of
a coral atoll. The growth and form of a fringing reef is
strongly influenced by the available accommodation space
determined by the position of the antecedent surface on
which the reef establishes in relation to sea level and the rate
of sedimentation (Kennedy and Woodroffe, 2002). Fringing
reefs may grow vertically to the sea surface in a keep-up or
catch-up mode, having been established on a newly flooded
substrate during a period of rising sea level. Fringing reefs
may also initiate at the same elevation as a stable sea surface,
prograding horizontally as a reef framework or over
non-reefal sediments. Progradation can be characterized by
progressive lateral accretion, but in some cases it may be
episodic, occurring through the attachment of fore-reef coral
bommies or patch reefs onto the reef front. In some cases
fringing reefs may establish just offshore of a landmass
either as a framework deposit or on top of an accumulation
of storm-deposited rubble (Kennedy and Woodroffe, 2002).
Bibliography
Darwin, C. R., 1842. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs.
London: Smith, Elder and Company.
Guilcher, A., 1988. Coral Reef Geomorphology. New York: Wiley.
Kennedy, D. M., and Woodroffe, C. D., 2002. Fringing reef growth
and morphology: a review. Earth Science Reviews, 57, 255–277.
Milliman, J. D., 1974. Marine Carbonates. Berlin: Springer.
Steers, J. A., and Stoddart, D. R., 1977. The origin of fringing reefs,
barrier reefs, and atolls. In Jones, O. A., and Endean, R. (eds.),
Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs. New York: Academic
Press, pp. 21–57.
Cross-references
Artificial Reef
Oyster Reef
338
FRINGING REEF