Salt marshes not only protect our dykes by slowing down the waves before they hit the dyke, they are also a unique biotope with many specialised plant and animal species. The clay, a special type of soil needed for dyke construction, is often extracted from the salt marsh. In terms of climate change, salt marshes should not be neglected either, with a carbon storage capacity of 100-200g /m²/a, even though salt marshes only cover a small area in total.

Sources:

Wadden Sea National Pact (n.d.): Salt marshes at: www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de/wissensbeitrag/salzwiesen/ (last accessed on 09.05.2023)

Stefan Zerbe, Gerhard Wiegleb (eds.)(2009): Renaturalisation of ecosystems in Central Europe. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag Heidelberg. 530 p. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8274-2161-6

Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (2011): Implementation guidelines for the protection of FFH habitat types and other habitat types of state-wide importance in Lower Saxony - Atlantic salt marshes below: Salt marshes not only protect our dykes by slowing down the waves before they hit the dyke, they are also a unique biotope with many specialised plant and animal species. The clay, a special type of soil needed for dyke construction, is often extracted from the salt marsh. In terms of climate change, salt marshes should not be neglected either, with a carbon storage capacity of 100-200g /m2 /a, even though salt marshes only cover a small area in total. Sources: Nationalpakt Wattenmeer (n.d.): Salt marshes at: www.nationalpark-wattenmeer.de/wissensbeitrag/salzwiesen/ (last accessed on 09/05/2023) Stefan Zerbe, Gerhard Wiegleb (eds.)(2009): Renaturalisation of ecosystems in Central Europe. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag Heidelberg. 530 p. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8274-2161-6 Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (2011): Implementation guidelines for the protection of FFH habitat types and other habitat types of state-wide importance in Lower Saxony - Atlantic salt marshes under: B08_VZH_LRT1330_AtlantischeSalzwiesen_Nov-2011.pdf