Salt pannes and pools

Salt pannes and pools are water retaining depressions located within salt and brackish marshes. Pools tend to retain water during the summer months between high tides, whereas pannes generally do not. Salt pannes generally start when a mat of organic debris (known as wrack) is deposited upon existing vegetation, killing it. This creates a slight depression in the surrounding vegetation which retains water for varying periods of time. Upon successive cycles of inundation and evaporation the panne develops an increased salinity greater than that of the larger body of water. This increased salinity dictates the type of flora and fauna able to grow within the panne. Salt pools are also secondary formations, though the exact mechanism(s) of formation are not well understood; some have predicted they will increase in size and abundance in the future due to rising sea levels.

Salt pannes and pools are unique microhabitats dominated by various species of halophytes, benthic plants and varying estuarine marine life that vary considerably in composition due to a variety of factors:

These factors affect the types of species which can survive within the various types of salt pannes and pools.

Variants of salt pannes and pools:

Low salt marsh

Usually devoid of vegetation, that may be present include smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), marine algae such as knotted wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) and rockweeds (Fucus spp.). The substrate is typically soft, silty mud.

High salt marsh

Briefly flooded, very shallow with a moderate amount of vegetation usually dominated by Arrow grass (Triglochin maritimum), with the deeper sections possibly remaining unvegetated.

Shallow depressions with poor drainage, poor water quality due to low nutrient levels and high concentrations of sulfides and similar compounds which inhibit plant growth. Short form (6-12" tall)smooth cord-grass (Spartina alterniflora) is the dominant plant species. Typically found on the high salt marsh, but can occasionally be found on the upper margins of low salt marsh.

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