Grazing • Access and amenity • Pollution • Coastal defence maintenance • Alternative uses

Pollution (cont)

Oil • Chemicals • Sewage and other enrichment • Litter

Litter

Litter can accumulate on the upper saltmarsh and along the tide line. There are three main sources; the most important of which is the detached material from the plants of the higher marsh. Algae and smaller plant material, such as diatoms and other detritus are the other sources. This natural litter, in the form of decaying algae or other vegetable matter, may be important in providing food for shoreline birds. For example, snow bunting feeds on the seeds deposited among the litter on the tideline on the east coast. This material, through consumption and decay, forms an important component of the overall estuarine food chain.

Much less valuable is the build up of plastic and other man made non-degradable material. This may be unsightly and can lead to the impression that saltmarsh and its adjacent habitats are degraded and unattractive areas, suitable for land claim. It is significant that the results of the investigation of human impacts on estuaries (Davidson, 1991) showed that no fewer than 122 of the 155 estuaries in the review suffered some form of informal (possibly illegal) domestic refuse disposal and 48 had rubbish tips located upon them. There is no information on the long-term impact on saltmarsh vegetation of small deposits of litter on the marsh.