Pre-marsh processes • Zonation & succession
Abiotic Factors • Dynamics & Decline

The development of saltmarshes depends fundamentally on a range of otherwise harsh physical and chemical conditions becoming sufficiently benign to allow (flowering) plants to colonise intertidal mudflats. These conditions are controlled by, but not necessarily directly related to, tidal inundation and other process factors. Colonisation by flowering plants is thus an indication that physical and particularly hydrodynamic forces are suitable, at least temporarily, for saltmarsh growth. The seaward limit of the colonists is conventionally regarded as the lower edge of the saltmarsh. However, the processes leading to saltmarsh development, including biological processes, are likely to have started on the mudflats seaward of the vegetation.

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