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Coastal Environments in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina

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Sabkha Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Tasks for Vegetation Science ((TAVS,volume 48))

Abstract

The Bahía Blanca Estuary is a coastal system placed in a sharp transition between humid subtropical and semiarid climates, shaped by a unique combination of large interanual climatic variations and a transgressive sea level during the Holocene. In the region, the late Holocene marine transgresion resulted in low coastal landforms inherited from the former estuarine dynamics. These environments are commonly occupied by coastal ecosystems that can be roughly classified into intertidal and inland (perimarine) wetlands. Within the intertidal zone, most of the area is covered by extensive barren mudflats, and marshes are dominated by Spartina alterniflora or Sarcocornia perennis. A supralittoral zone can be defined in an intermediate position, irregularly inundated by sea water. Vegetation in this zone is sparse, with a mosaic of salt flats, halophytic steppes and shrubs forming mound-intermound complexes. The Old Marine Plain, in the inland limits of the marine transgression is not affected by tidal flooding, but an irregularly humid zone develops due to saline seepage from the uplands. These wetlands are subjected to episodic disappearance, and may get dry for several years, relying on the occurrence of rainy years during humid periods to resurge. Because of their highly dynamic nature, and the particular climatic settings of the area, these wetlands are sensitive indicators of climate change and variations in large scale circulation patterns. This chapter describes climatic patterns, geomorphological settings, and plant communities, as well as the major physical and biological interactions defining landscape structure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía, CONICET, Cno. La Carrindanga km 7.5, Bahía Blanca, 8000, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Paula Daniela Pratolongo, María Julia Piovan & Diana Graciela Cuadrado

  2. Departamento de Biología Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, Bahía Blanca, 8000, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Paula Daniela Pratolongo & María Julia Piovan

  3. Departamento de Geología, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, Bahía Blanca, 8000, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Diana Graciela Cuadrado

Authors
  1. Paula Daniela Pratolongo
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  2. María Julia Piovan
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  3. Diana Graciela Cuadrado
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Correspondence to Paula Daniela Pratolongo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University Center for Sust. Development, Doha, Qatar

    M. Ajmal Khan

  2. UNESCO Liaison Office, UNECA Bldg New Bldg, 1st floor, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia

    Benno Boër

  3. Ege University, Izmir, Turkey

    Münir Ȫzturk

  4. Division of Ecological and Earth Science, UNESCO Headquarters, Natural Sci Div of Ecological & Earth Science, Paris Cedex 15, France

    Miguel Clüsener-Godt

  5. Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utili, University of Karachi Inst.of Sustainable Halophyte Utili, Karachi, Pakistan

    Bilquees Gul

  6. Abteilung 3 - Ökologie, Universität Bielefeld Fakultät für Biologie, Bielefeld, Germany

    Siegmar-W. Breckle

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Pratolongo, P.D., Piovan, M.J., Cuadrado, D.G. (2016). Coastal Environments in the Bahía Blanca Estuary, Argentina. In: Khan, M., Boër, B., Ȫzturk, M., Clüsener-Godt, M., Gul, B., Breckle, SW. (eds) Sabkha Ecosystems. Tasks for Vegetation Science, vol 48. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27093-7_10

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