Who are the target audience?
The updated Saltmarsh Management Manual is intended to be the first point of reference for all those involved in the management, maintenance and restoration of saltmarshes, especially saltmarshes which form an integral component of flood and coastal defence systems. Therefore the target audience will include policy makers, planners, engineers and field workers acting on behalf of organisations such as Defra, the Environment Agency, Local Authorities on the coast, Port Authorities, nature conservation bodies, particularly those with responsibilities for the management of designated sites, and others with an interest in the effective management and use of saltmarshes.
How to use the Electronic Publication
The electronic version of the Saltmarsh Management Manual has been designed to allow the user to follow one of two generic routes through the information provided.
The first route - accessible through the menu provided in the left hand margin of each page - essentially adopts the same structure as the Saltmarsh Management Manual itself, using the menu headings:
What is the saltmarsh that we might manage?
Why is saltmarsh worth managing?
Factors leading to saltmarsh change
Saltmarsh management
Survey and monitoring of saltmarsh
For each menu heading a series of sub-menus appear, all of which are sections of the main document. By selecting any of these sub-menus the user is taken directly to the relevant section of the Electronic Publication. Links to further information within the sub-menus are provided at the top of the relevant page, including links to relevant appendices.
Each of these sections can be downloaded as separate PDF documents in the downloads menu (click here to download the latest version of Acrobat reader).
The second route - accessible through the buttons at the bottom of the home page - provides a more targeted approach by guiding the user through a series of questions and answers. The pages have been designed to take the user through a series of steps (links to the next step are via the flow charts on the right hand side of each page) important in reaching management decisions; each begining at a different point in the process. That is:
Saltmarsh Condition
Causes of change
Problem Definition
Option Selection
Management Techniques
Colour Guide
Links to other sections of the guide are coloured green
Links to external information are coloured blue
References cited in the text are coloured brown and link to the reference list.
Links to Figures and Case studies are coloured light green
Finally, the Site Map provides a overview of the lay-out and structure of the electronic publication.
In summary, we hope that this Electronic Publication provides an accessible and user-friendly method of obtaining information on Saltmarsh Management.
