Mangroves & Saltmarsh Jigsaw

Mangroves are flowering plants that are well suited to growing in soft muddy sediments as well as being able to cope with being regularly inundated by seawater. In Victoria and here in Barwon Heads there is only one species of mangrove, the White Mangrove (Avicennia marina) which forms an important habitat along the lower Barwon Estuary.

Saltmarshes are groups of flowering plants that are able to grow in highly saline environments such as are found along the edges of the Barwon Estuary and the wetlands around Lake Connewarre. Saltmarshes are not covered by seawater as regularly as mangroves but do occasionally get inundated during extreme high tides or during floods.

Jigsaw image provided by the Marine and Freshwater Discovery Centre, Victorian Fisheries Authority