The ageing of saltmarshes
The first stages of vegetation succession are becoming less common on the saltmarshes of Zeeland.
Trends
Under natural conditions, in some places saltmarshes grow by accretion, and elsewhere they shrink because of erosion. The damming of tidal inlets in the Zeeland delta, the empoldering of land, and the deepening of the navigation channel in the Westerschelde are making it increasingly difficult for new saltmarshes to form, so the area of saltmarsh in the Zeeland delta is dwindling.
Because few new saltmarshes are forming and the vegetation of the existing ones is becoming ranker as a result of vegetation succession, the first stages of vegetation succession are becoming increasingly uncommon. This can be seen from the decline in Townsend's cord-grass (a pioneer species) and the increase in sea couch-grass (a more rank species) in Saeftinge (see figure).
