Seasons of the Salt Marsh

Book excerpt: Both a useful handbook for the field-naturalist and an illumination exploration for the layman of an unappreciated part of our land is "Seasons of the Salt Marsh." Because the tidal salt marsh is neither land nor sea, life within its confines must be equipped with a marvelous adaptability, not only to the changing seasons, but to the daily rise and fall of the tides that alternately flood and expose its surface. Gates examines its fertile habitat, development since the last ice age, the interaction of its plants and animals, and the abiding importance of the total ecosystem.