VEGETATIONAL AND ABIOTIC ANALYSIS OF THE SALTERNS OF MANGALS AND SALTMARSHES OF THE WEST-COAST OF FLORIDA

To determine saltern boundaries, vascular plant distributions were ana lyzed across nine transects through three tidal communities on the wes t coast of Florida: a salt marsh in St. Mark's National Wildlife Refug e, a dwarf mangal in upper Tampa Bay and a well developed mangal in Ch arlotte Harbor. All nine transects had nearly identical soil salinitie s, ranging from 20 to 40 ppt in the tidal marshes and up to 170 ppt in the saltern. Elevation increased an average of 18 cm 100 m(-1) from t he seaward side of the saltern to the landward side of the barrens. El evation increased more rapidly from the barrens to the coastal hammock border. A statistical analysis of vascular plant distribution along t he transects indicated that the primary and most important boundary oc curred at the hammock-saltern border for seven of the nine transects. Only one transect depicted biotic boundaries that delineated the salte rn and an inner barren zone from adjacent Juncus romeraneous. For othe r transects, further boundaries delineated the mangrove- or salt marsh -saltern border. The statistical analyses for biotic boundaries indica ted salterns of Florida are part of the entire tidal marsh zone. Despi te their distinctive appearance, 8 out of 9 transects revealed saltern s cannot be differentiated from adjacent mangrove or salt marsh system s. Thus, management decisions for protection or enhancement should inc lude the saltern as a component of the tidal marsh community on the we st coast of Florida.