1. Salt marshes are pretty

2.  Salt marshes occur where the land meets the sea, usually behind an estuary or sound and only on the coasts  Estuary-where freshwater and saltwater mix Ex) Chesapeake Bay, Winyah Bay

3. Why should you care?!?!  South Carolina has the most marsh acreage of any other Atlantic coast state (344,500 acres of salt marsh)  Among the most productive ecosystems and contain unique types of plants and animals that can’t be found anywhere else

4.  They also contain specific types of plants because they need to be salt-tolerant and they are regularly exposed to wet and dry conditions since the marsh is influenced by the tides

5. Benefits  Nursery grounds  Refuge from predation  Recreational area for fisherman  Storm buffer  What else can they buffer against??

6. Benefits

7. The Problem  Marshes have been filled in or dredged in order to create more land  Over half of the population has moved towards the coastal areas, which has increased pollution and runoff to our coastal ecosystems

8.  What will you see when we go to the salt marsh?!?!?  We will be constructing our own salt marshes on Monday so pay attention to the different parts and characteristics of a salt marsh  http://www.knowitall.org/sclife/test.html http://www.knowitall.org/sclife/test.html