Colonization of mudflat substrate by microarthropods: the role of distance, inundation frequency and body size.

Salt marshes represent a unique ecosystem at the marine-terrestrial boundary of shallow protected coastlines. Microarthropods form an essential component of soil food webs, but how they colonize new intertidal habitats is little understood. By establishing two experimental systems without animals, we investigated microarthropod colonization (1) at the seashore from the pioneer zone to the lower and upper salt marsh and (2) at the same tidal height on artificial islands 500 m from the seashore.

Trophic structure and origin of resources of soil macrofauna in the salt marsh of the Wadden Sea: a stable isotope (N, C) study.

Salt marshes exist along the gradient of the marine mudflat to the terrestrial dunes, with a gradient of shore height and associated plant zonation. The lower salt marsh (LSM) extends from the mean high tidal level to 35 cm above that level and is followed by the upper salt marsh (USM). Despite changes in the amount of allochthonous marine input and in abiotic conditions, little is known about changes in the trophic structure and used of basal resources by the soil macrofauna along marine-terrestrial boundaries.

Spatial and temporal variations in salt marsh microorganisms of the Wadden Sea.

Salt marshes exist at the interface of the marine and the terrestrial system. Shore height differences and associated variations in inundation frequency result in altered abiotic conditions, plant communities, and resource input into the belowground system. These factors result in three unique zones, the upper salt marsh (USM), the lower salt marsh (LSM), and the pioneer zone (PZ).