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Wet coastal ecosystems
278
quadrat" (p. 56). It is my experience in this tolerant society that poles and other means of marking are never safe in any environment, not even in nature reserves. After having just seen the serious damage caused by the Amoco Cadiz disaster, I can only heartily support the ideas underlying this book. The urgency of coastal management on a scientific basis cannot be stressed enough. c. DEN HARTOG
(Ni]megen, The Netherlands)
A BASIC REVIEW OF SALT-MARSH AND MANGAL FORMATIONS
Wet Coastal Ecosystems. V.J. Chapman (Editor). Vol. I of Ecosystems of the World. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, Oxford, New York, 1977, 428 pp., $47.95, Dfl. 122.00, ISBN 0-444-41560-2. This book is the first of a series Ecosystems of the World to be published under the general editorship of D.W. Goodall. It gives a general review on saltmarshes and mangrove-swamps (called mangals). After a series of introductory chapters (general introduction, physiography, climate, soils and salt-marsh animals), ten chapters follow in which the available data on salt-marshes and mangrove-swamps are discussed on a regional basis; together they cover almost the whole world. Finally, two chapters follow on the exploitation of mangal and the h u m a n uses of salt-marshes. The presentation of the data permits a general appraisal of what is known and u n k n o w n of the two ecosystems. In the first place, it is clear that knowledge of the salt-marshes and mangals of many parts of the world is still poor. Secondly, it is apparent that the approaches applied to the study of the ecosystems vary from area to area, and that the results are often n o t comparable. One cannot compare, for example, the contribution of W.G. Beeftink (Chap.6) on the salt-marshes of western and northern Europe with the contributions of Reynolds (Chap. 7), MacDonald (Chap. 8) and West (Chap. 9) on the saltmarshes and mangals of the Americas and that of Saenger et al. (Chap. 15) on these formations in Australasia. The book, therefore, can be looked on as a first step in bringing a general line to the numerous data. The step now to be made would be to apply the various approaches to other areas in order to arrive at a standardized way of data presentation. Thirdly, it is obvious t h a t no ecosystems, but formations are described. Ecosystems are functional units, but the functional aspects such as the ecological network relations, energy flow, geochemical cycles, production and decomposition processes have been hardly touched upon by the various
279
authors. In spite of this, I regard this book as the most exciting landmark reached so far in the study of salt-marshes and mangals. It seems almost banal to c o m m e n t on details in a book of this format; therefore, I will restrict myself to three observations. Firstly, although the editor, V.J. Chapman, claims that the classification of salt-marsh and mangal communities presented in the Tables 1.1 and 1.2 follows the Montpellier classification, the use of the nomenclature is, in several ways, not in agreement with general use. Regrettably, no criteria have been given on which the hierar. chy of the classification is based, nor is it mentioned why nomenclature deviates from the one generally used. Secondly, I noticed that the contribution of F.C. Daiber on salt-marsh animals is exclusively based on literature written in the English language. Outstanding papers on salt-marsh fauna, such as those of M. Bilio and B. Heydemann are not incorporated. Thirdly, in the contribution of W.G. Beeftink about the European saltmarshes, the widely distributed vegetation units characterized by the dominance of Juncus maritimus have not been discussed. C. DEN HARTOG
(Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
quadrat" (p. 56). It is my experience in this tolerant society that poles and other means of marking are never safe in any environment, not even in nature reserves. After having just seen the serious damage caused by the Amoco Cadiz disaster, I can only heartily support the ideas underlying this book. The urgency of coastal management on a scientific basis cannot be stressed enough. c. DEN HARTOG
(Ni]megen, The Netherlands)
A BASIC REVIEW OF SALT-MARSH AND MANGAL FORMATIONS
Wet Coastal Ecosystems. V.J. Chapman (Editor). Vol. I of Ecosystems of the World. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, Oxford, New York, 1977, 428 pp., $47.95, Dfl. 122.00, ISBN 0-444-41560-2. This book is the first of a series Ecosystems of the World to be published under the general editorship of D.W. Goodall. It gives a general review on saltmarshes and mangrove-swamps (called mangals). After a series of introductory chapters (general introduction, physiography, climate, soils and salt-marsh animals), ten chapters follow in which the available data on salt-marshes and mangrove-swamps are discussed on a regional basis; together they cover almost the whole world. Finally, two chapters follow on the exploitation of mangal and the h u m a n uses of salt-marshes. The presentation of the data permits a general appraisal of what is known and u n k n o w n of the two ecosystems. In the first place, it is clear that knowledge of the salt-marshes and mangals of many parts of the world is still poor. Secondly, it is apparent that the approaches applied to the study of the ecosystems vary from area to area, and that the results are often n o t comparable. One cannot compare, for example, the contribution of W.G. Beeftink (Chap.6) on the salt-marshes of western and northern Europe with the contributions of Reynolds (Chap. 7), MacDonald (Chap. 8) and West (Chap. 9) on the saltmarshes and mangals of the Americas and that of Saenger et al. (Chap. 15) on these formations in Australasia. The book, therefore, can be looked on as a first step in bringing a general line to the numerous data. The step now to be made would be to apply the various approaches to other areas in order to arrive at a standardized way of data presentation. Thirdly, it is obvious t h a t no ecosystems, but formations are described. Ecosystems are functional units, but the functional aspects such as the ecological network relations, energy flow, geochemical cycles, production and decomposition processes have been hardly touched upon by the various
279
authors. In spite of this, I regard this book as the most exciting landmark reached so far in the study of salt-marshes and mangals. It seems almost banal to c o m m e n t on details in a book of this format; therefore, I will restrict myself to three observations. Firstly, although the editor, V.J. Chapman, claims that the classification of salt-marsh and mangal communities presented in the Tables 1.1 and 1.2 follows the Montpellier classification, the use of the nomenclature is, in several ways, not in agreement with general use. Regrettably, no criteria have been given on which the hierar. chy of the classification is based, nor is it mentioned why nomenclature deviates from the one generally used. Secondly, I noticed that the contribution of F.C. Daiber on salt-marsh animals is exclusively based on literature written in the English language. Outstanding papers on salt-marsh fauna, such as those of M. Bilio and B. Heydemann are not incorporated. Thirdly, in the contribution of W.G. Beeftink about the European saltmarshes, the widely distributed vegetation units characterized by the dominance of Juncus maritimus have not been discussed. C. DEN HARTOG
(Nijmegen, The Netherlands)