Between land and sea

On a raw January day, with a chill wind whipping in off the sea, saltmarshes can feel utterly bleak. They are a ‘halfway house’; an ever-changing world of glistening ooze, strange plants and saline creeks, that disappears daily under high tides. Yet this low-lying coastal habitat is of vital importance, for its wildlife riches and economic value.

Huge numbers of ducks, geese and waders, including curlew ( pictured), depend on saltmarsh during the winter. In summer, it is a breeding ground for about half of Britain’s redshanks – known as ‘sentinels of the marshes’ for their flightiness and shrill alarm calls – which nest among the hardy Spartina grass, sea purslane, glasswort and seablite.

These halophytic (salt-tolerant) plants slow the flow of sea water, stopping the mud from being washed away. Hence the crucial role played by saltmarsh in coastal defence – it absorbs and dissipates storm surges.

The RSPB estimates that the UK lost 600 hectares of saltmarsh between 1992–98 alone. But there is hope in coastal realignment schemes, such as those at Steart in Somerset and Wallasea Island in Essex. These new saltmarshes help wildlife while protecting vulnerable farmland and towns from rising sea levels.

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Read about coastal realignment at Steart marshes: wwt.org.uk/steart