Downloads

Download the protocol documents, field- and laboratory sheets, and data entry spreadsheets from figshare:

Protocol	Link	Required or Optional
Sampling Event and Environmental Monitoring	https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14555511	Required
Salt Marsh Protocols	https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14896194	Required
Sediment Organic Matter	https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14925111	Required
Predation Assay	https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14717802	Required
Diver Visual Survey	https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14717796	Optional
Beach Seines	https://doi.org/10.25573/serc.14925105	Optional

Background

Coastal salt marshes are biogenic wetland habitats defined by regular inundation with salt water from tides. Plant species diversity is typically low and comprised of salt and submersion-tolerant species. Salt marshes provide a variety of services including erosion protection, essential habitats for fish and invertebrates, nutrient filtering, and carbon sequestration. Principal threats include coastal development, accelerating sea level rise, and pollution from land-based sources. Salt marshes have a near-global distribution although they are most prevalent along protected shorelines in the mid to high latitudes.  Given their widespread occurrence and position at the land-sea interface, salt marshes are ideal ecosystems to examine responses to global change. 

This document provides an overview of MarineGEO’s standardized methodology for estimating key ecological parameters in salt marshes including plant species composition, above-ground primary productivity, infaunal and epifaunal diversity and abundance, consumption rates, and sediment organic matter. Also provided are site selection and establishment procedures and an integrated workflow. Marsh vegetation surveys are conducted during the period of annual maximum standing biomass in the late summer or early fall. Prior to data collection, marsh transects must be selected and plots established for permanent sampling.

We thank Merryl Alber, Matt Ferner, and Christine Angelini for thoughtful feedback on the initial draft of these protocols.