Salt marsh occurs in the intertidal zone and has a number of functions including a filter for pollutants, protecting coasts from flooding and providing habitat for a number of salt tolerant species. More recently it has been recognised salt marshes also function as a carbon sink and as they have the ability to grow significantly, they may play a larger role in the future.
We are currently revising estimates of carbon stored below-ground in UK salt marshes using new data from a range of UK soil surveys and monitoring schemes. This is being carried out as part of the Defra funded project "Assembling UK-wide data on soil carbon and greenhouse gas fluxes in the context of land management".
Links:
[1] https://www.hutton.ac.uk/staff/helaina-black