Bibliography
Coleman, J. M., Gagliano, S. M., and Smith, W. G., 1970. Sedimentation in a Malaysian high tide tropical delta. In Morgan, J. P.
(ed.), Deltaic Sedimentation – Modern and Ancient. Tulsa: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication, Vol. 15, pp. 185–197.
Cresswell, I. D., 2000. Ecological significance of freshwater seeps
along the western shore of the Leschenault Inlet estuary. Journal
of the Royal Society of Western Australia: Special Issue on the
Leschenault Inlet Estuary, 83, 285–292.
Logan, B. W., 1974. Inventory of diagenesis in Holocene-Recent
carbonate sediments, Shark Bay, Western Australia. In Logan,
B. W. (ed.), Evolution and Diagenesis of Quaternary Carbonate
Sequences, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Tulsa: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir, Vol.
22, pp. 195–249.
MacNae, W., 1968. A general account pf the fauna and flora of mangrove swamps and forests in the Indo-West-Pacific region.
Advances in Marine Biology, 6, 73–270.
Pennings, S. C., Grant, M.-B., and Bertness, M. D., 2005. Plant
zonation in low-latitude salt marshes: disentangling the roles of
flooding, salinity and competition. Journal of Ecology, 93,
159–167.
Scoffin, T. P., 1987. An Introduction to Carbonate Sediments and
Rocks. Glascow: Blackie & Sons, Bishopbriggs.
Semeniuk, V., 1983. Mangrove distribution in Northwestern Australia in relationship to freshwater seepage. Vegetatio, 53, 11–31.
Semeniuk, V., 2010. A note on calcite precipitates as encrustations
around sea rush roots and as microlaminae in high tidal zones
of western Leschenault Inlet estuary. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 93, 195–199.
Semeniuk, V., Tauss, C., and Unno, J., 2000. Avicennia marina in
the Leschenault Inlet area. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia: Special Issue on the Leschenault Inlet Estuary, 83,
317–334.
Silvestri, S., Defina, A., and Marani, M., 2005. Tidal regime, salinity and salt marsh plant zonation. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science, 62, 119–130, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2004.08.010.
Tomlinson, P. B., 1986. The Botany of Mangroves. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Cross-references
Cheniers and Regressive Bedforms
Mangroves
Saltmarshes
TIDAL FRESHWATER HABITAT
Judith Z. Drexler
U.S. Geological Survey, California Water Science Center,
Sacramento, CA, USA
Synonyms
Tidal freshwater ecosystems; Tidal freshwater wetlands
Definition
Tidal freshwater habitat consists of wetland (See
Wetlands) ecosystems, which are located at the far
upstream end of estuaries and downstream from nontidal
freshwater ecosystems. The salinity of tidal freshwater
habitat is generally less than 0.5 parts per thousand (ppt).
A variety of animal species, including fish, amphibians,
reptiles, and particularly birds, live in tidal freshwater
habitat permanently or for at least part of the year.
Description
Tidal freshwater habitat is a transitional habitat type
found along the ecological continuum between tidal
saline wetlands and nontidal ecosystems in both tropical
and temperate coastal regions. Such habitat occupies the
upstream reaches of estuaries and large coastal wetland
complexes. For example, in the temperate zone, tidal
freshwater habitat can be found upstream from
salt marshes in estuaries along the West, Southeast, and
Gulf coasts of the United States (Odum et al., 1984;
Drexler et al., 2009b; Johnson et al., 2011). In the tropics,
an example of tidal freshwater habitat is palm forest,
which occurs upstream from mangrove ecosystems
(Ewel, 2010).
Tidal freshwater habitat may contain forest,
scrub-shrub, and herbaceous plant (marsh) communities.
Examples of forest types (swamps) are bald cypress
(Taxodium distichum) in the southeastern United States,
dragon’s blood (Pterocarpus officinalis) in the Caribbean
basin, and nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) along coastlines and
estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans
(Rivera-Ocasio et al., 2007; Ellison et al., 2010;
Dubenstein et al., 2013). Scrub-shrub wetlands typically
contain a variety of woody vegetation generally less than
5 m in height. Examples of scrub-shrub plant species
include smooth alder (Alnus serrulata), black willow
(Salix nigra), and marsh elder (Iva frutescens) in the
Southeast and Sitka willow (S. sitchensis), red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), and hardhack steeplebush
(Spiraea douglasii) in the Pacific Northwest of the United
States (Thomas, 1984; Coulling, 2002). Herbaceous plant
communities, particularly those found in the higher
reaches of tidal freshwater marsh (Figure 1), tend to have
greater plant diversity than forest or scrub-shrub communities. Typical high marsh species in the United States
include annual plants, such as great ragweed (Ambrosia
trifida), smooth beggartick (Bidens laevis), and knotweed
(Polygonum spp.), and perennials, such as rice cutgrass
(Leersia oryzoides), green arrow arum (Peltandra
virginica), cattails (Typha spp.), giant cutgrass
(Zizaniopsis miliacea), and bulrushes (Schoenoplectus
spp.). In Europe, patch-forming perennials such as cattails
(Typha spp.), bulrushes (Schoenoplectus spp.), reed
canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), valerian (Valeriana
officinalis), and bur-reed (Sparganium spp.) tend to dominate the high marsh (Whigham et al., 2009; Barendregt
and Swarth, 2013).
The physical conditions in tidal freshwater habitat
reflect its transitional role in the landscape. The salinity
of channels is usually less than 0.5 ppt. Tidal range (See
Tidal Ranges) is typically from < 0.5 to 2 m and can
potentially be greater upstream than downstream due to
TIDAL FRESHWATER HABITAT
683
Coleman, J. M., Gagliano, S. M., and Smith, W. G., 1970. Sedimentation in a Malaysian high tide tropical delta. In Morgan, J. P.
(ed.), Deltaic Sedimentation – Modern and Ancient. Tulsa: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists Special Publication, Vol. 15, pp. 185–197.
Cresswell, I. D., 2000. Ecological significance of freshwater seeps
along the western shore of the Leschenault Inlet estuary. Journal
of the Royal Society of Western Australia: Special Issue on the
Leschenault Inlet Estuary, 83, 285–292.
Logan, B. W., 1974. Inventory of diagenesis in Holocene-Recent
carbonate sediments, Shark Bay, Western Australia. In Logan,
B. W. (ed.), Evolution and Diagenesis of Quaternary Carbonate
Sequences, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Tulsa: American
Association of Petroleum Geologists Memoir, Vol.
22, pp. 195–249.
MacNae, W., 1968. A general account pf the fauna and flora of mangrove swamps and forests in the Indo-West-Pacific region.
Advances in Marine Biology, 6, 73–270.
Pennings, S. C., Grant, M.-B., and Bertness, M. D., 2005. Plant
zonation in low-latitude salt marshes: disentangling the roles of
flooding, salinity and competition. Journal of Ecology, 93,
159–167.
Scoffin, T. P., 1987. An Introduction to Carbonate Sediments and
Rocks. Glascow: Blackie & Sons, Bishopbriggs.
Semeniuk, V., 1983. Mangrove distribution in Northwestern Australia in relationship to freshwater seepage. Vegetatio, 53, 11–31.
Semeniuk, V., 2010. A note on calcite precipitates as encrustations
around sea rush roots and as microlaminae in high tidal zones
of western Leschenault Inlet estuary. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 93, 195–199.
Semeniuk, V., Tauss, C., and Unno, J., 2000. Avicennia marina in
the Leschenault Inlet area. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia: Special Issue on the Leschenault Inlet Estuary, 83,
317–334.
Silvestri, S., Defina, A., and Marani, M., 2005. Tidal regime, salinity and salt marsh plant zonation. Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science, 62, 119–130, doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2004.08.010.
Tomlinson, P. B., 1986. The Botany of Mangroves. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Cross-references
Cheniers and Regressive Bedforms
Mangroves
Saltmarshes
TIDAL FRESHWATER HABITAT
Judith Z. Drexler
U.S. Geological Survey, California Water Science Center,
Sacramento, CA, USA
Synonyms
Tidal freshwater ecosystems; Tidal freshwater wetlands
Definition
Tidal freshwater habitat consists of wetland (See
Wetlands) ecosystems, which are located at the far
upstream end of estuaries and downstream from nontidal
freshwater ecosystems. The salinity of tidal freshwater
habitat is generally less than 0.5 parts per thousand (ppt).
A variety of animal species, including fish, amphibians,
reptiles, and particularly birds, live in tidal freshwater
habitat permanently or for at least part of the year.
Description
Tidal freshwater habitat is a transitional habitat type
found along the ecological continuum between tidal
saline wetlands and nontidal ecosystems in both tropical
and temperate coastal regions. Such habitat occupies the
upstream reaches of estuaries and large coastal wetland
complexes. For example, in the temperate zone, tidal
freshwater habitat can be found upstream from
salt marshes in estuaries along the West, Southeast, and
Gulf coasts of the United States (Odum et al., 1984;
Drexler et al., 2009b; Johnson et al., 2011). In the tropics,
an example of tidal freshwater habitat is palm forest,
which occurs upstream from mangrove ecosystems
(Ewel, 2010).
Tidal freshwater habitat may contain forest,
scrub-shrub, and herbaceous plant (marsh) communities.
Examples of forest types (swamps) are bald cypress
(Taxodium distichum) in the southeastern United States,
dragon’s blood (Pterocarpus officinalis) in the Caribbean
basin, and nipa palm (Nypa fruticans) along coastlines and
estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans
(Rivera-Ocasio et al., 2007; Ellison et al., 2010;
Dubenstein et al., 2013). Scrub-shrub wetlands typically
contain a variety of woody vegetation generally less than
5 m in height. Examples of scrub-shrub plant species
include smooth alder (Alnus serrulata), black willow
(Salix nigra), and marsh elder (Iva frutescens) in the
Southeast and Sitka willow (S. sitchensis), red osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), and hardhack steeplebush
(Spiraea douglasii) in the Pacific Northwest of the United
States (Thomas, 1984; Coulling, 2002). Herbaceous plant
communities, particularly those found in the higher
reaches of tidal freshwater marsh (Figure 1), tend to have
greater plant diversity than forest or scrub-shrub communities. Typical high marsh species in the United States
include annual plants, such as great ragweed (Ambrosia
trifida), smooth beggartick (Bidens laevis), and knotweed
(Polygonum spp.), and perennials, such as rice cutgrass
(Leersia oryzoides), green arrow arum (Peltandra
virginica), cattails (Typha spp.), giant cutgrass
(Zizaniopsis miliacea), and bulrushes (Schoenoplectus
spp.). In Europe, patch-forming perennials such as cattails
(Typha spp.), bulrushes (Schoenoplectus spp.), reed
canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), valerian (Valeriana
officinalis), and bur-reed (Sparganium spp.) tend to dominate the high marsh (Whigham et al., 2009; Barendregt
and Swarth, 2013).
The physical conditions in tidal freshwater habitat
reflect its transitional role in the landscape. The salinity
of channels is usually less than 0.5 ppt. Tidal range (See
Tidal Ranges) is typically from < 0.5 to 2 m and can
potentially be greater upstream than downstream due to
TIDAL FRESHWATER HABITAT
683