Production of dominant emergent vegetation and of pool algae on a northern Massachusetts salt marsh

Cover frequency for the emergent vegetation of three representative sections of a salt marsh is presented. Annual production values are calculated using the ash-free dry weights of a series of harvests of standing live and dead crops, and estimating export or decomposition losses from the standing crops from data on litterbag-losses. Production values are provided for tall and dwarf Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, Distichlis spicata, Juncus Gerardi, Salicornia europaea, Typha angustifolia and Scirpus olneyi, the last two being based on end-of-season harvests only. These species account for from 88 to 96% of the emergent cover of these marsh sections. Salt marsh pool production and cover values are obtained and integrated for 8 months of the year. Such pools comprise from 0 to 26% of the sections studied. These data provide a baseline for studies of energy transfer in this marsh.