Salt being exuded from Spartina alterniflora

The dried shell of a crab found within Spartina patens.

Make sure to consult tide charts while on the marsh so that you don’t get stuck behind the rising water.

The New England Seeds of Success team has been traveling throughout the North East searching out ripening seeds that will be used in various conservation projects ranging from dune rehabilitation to stream stabilization. We are also collecting a wide range of common species that will be stored and become available in the case of future disasters and damage to plant communities.

Much of our time collecting in New England has been spent collecting salt marsh graminoides (grass-like plants), where rising sea levels threaten the delicate balance of fresh and salt water habitat. These systems are very important in keeping our coasts stable and act as a large filter as water makes its way to the sea. Despite being hugely important, these are not very diverse systems, often relying on only a few species.

There are no trees in the salt marsh, so sun beats down on us while we collect and the wind leaves us parched. The area is ruled by the tides and if one isn’t careful the water will quietly rise and leaving them stranded in a limited area of solid ground. It is also due to these factors that these areas are so beautiful and surprises abound when one takes a closer look.

It is partly due to the monotonous nature of these spaces that make the small things stand out. Watching the breeze roll across the huge open landscape can be memorizing. Spartina alterniflora, the salt marsh cord grass, glistens in the summer heat as it exudes salt directly out of its leaves. Small treasures can be seen throughout the marsh, from the dessicated shells of crabs that were deposited during a high tide to watching a horse shoe crab feeding the mucky bottom of a canal.

Salt marshes have so much to offer to both the function of an areas as well as to provide a beautiful landscape. We are fortunate to spend our days in such amazing spaces and to have the presence of mind to notice the things that are often overlooked.