esturine mudflats and salt marsh environments

Question 1

where do mudflats develop?

Answer 1

Low lying sheltered shorelines
Often in an estuary or on landward side of a spit
Made of silt and clay

Question 2

Flocculation is a process which takes place in mudflats what is flocculation?

Answer 2

As seawater and river water meet the fine particles settle out of suspension by the process of floccuation.
individual clay particles aggregate together to form larger, heavier particles that can sink to the bed

Question 3

how does saltmarsh develop?

Answer 3

Flat low lying estuarine areas

Formed from mudflats over time

Question 4

What processes take place on salt marshes

Answer 4

A process of vegetation succession called a halosere

Question 4

What is a halosere?

Answer 4

1. Pioneer species develop
2. Soil develops more deposition and organic matter produced, the marsh increases in height and biodiversity and plant cover increases
3. Mud level rises, land rises above sea level and rushes and reeds grow

Question 5

What leads into a saltmarsh?

Answer 5

A mud flat

Question 6

What are the conditions of a mudflat?

Answer 6

Salt water
Partial coverage by water
Difficult for species to develop

Question 7

What is the pioneer species and what does it do?

Answer 7

Spartina

Encourages more deposition as plants and roots trap material and hold the mudflat up