Abstract
The stable carbon isotope composition of the biota, soils and tidal water particulate material was surveyed in a salt marsh near Sapelo Island, Georgia. Samples were taken in six intertidal zones: bare creekbank, Spartina alterniflora low marsh, S. alterniflora high marsh, Salicornia virginica high marsh, sand flat and high marsh mixed vegetation stands. The marsh plants analyzed segregated into three groups with respect to their 13C 12C ratios. The grasses, including S. alterniflora, had δ 13C values of −12.3 to −13.6‰; the other vascular plants had values between −22.8 and −26.0‰; and benthic diatoms had intermediate values of −16.2 to −17.9‰. Marsh soils and to some extent the invertebrate fauna reflected the carbon isotope composition of the major primary producer species in the various zones. Five samples of the particulate organic carbon (POC) in marsh tidal water showed δ 13C values of −19.8 to − 22.8‰. These values fell within the range of δ 13C found for offshore POC, most of which is presumed to originate from phytoplankton photosynthesis. This result requires a re-examination of the assumption that the bulk of detrital carbon in Georgia estuaries is derived from S. alterniflora production.
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