Table 6.
Compilation of root mass and aboveground biomass data from North Sea salt marshes up to a sediment depth of 20 cm from this study and for two further sites investigated by Strieckmann (1989).
| Study site | Dominant plant species | Root mass (g m−2) | Aboveground biomass (g m−2) | Methodology | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spiekeroog, Germany (ungrazed marsh) | Spartina anglica | 1,503 ± 331 | 1, 048 ± 205 | Size of sieve for root washing: 200 μm; Soil depth: 20 cm; only fine roots (dead and alive); sampling in September; mean ± se presented | This study |
| Atriplex portulacoides | 2,243 ± 484 | 712 ± 210 | |||
| Elytrigia atherica | 1,296 ± 111 | 481 ± 37 | |||
| Westerhever, Germany (ungrazed marsh) | Spartina anglica | 888 ± 123 | 1, 134 ± 159 | ||
| Atriplex portulacoides | 1,469 ± 332 | 2, 376 ± 329 | |||
| Elytrigia atherica | 617 ± 46 | 1, 685 ± 387 | |||
| Oland, Germany (ungrazed marsh) | Spartina anglica | 2,594 | 235 ± 146 | Size of sieve for root washing: 315 μm; soil depth: 24 cm; no differentiation between root fractions; sampling in June; mean ± sd presented | Strieckmann, 1989, unpublished data |
| Spartina anglica + Aster tripolium | 5,156 | 783 ± 179 | |||
| Spartina anglica | 3,967 | 778 ± 184 | |||
| Atriplex portulacoides | 1,661 | 1, 191 ± 916 | |||
| Elytrigia atherica | 1,712 | 2, 178 ± 281 | |||
| Sönke-Nissen-Koog, Germany (grazed marsh) | Puccinellia maritima | 3,496 | 518 ± 83 | ||
| Puccinellia maritima | 2,148 | 486 ± 164 | |||
| Spartina anglica | 2,743 | 499 ± 171 |