. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. COASTAL TIDINGS Salt Marsh Meadows Cord grasses are the most common grasses along the fringe of North Carolina's salt marshes. They are true members of the grass family that have adapted to the harsh realities of a salty environment. Cord grasses inhabit the area of marsh above the mud flats that is submerged with salt water only at high tide. Unlike seagrasses, cord grasses do not tolerate total submergence in seawater. Their leaves must always remain exposed to the air. Salt glands in the cord grass leav
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. COASTAL TIDINGS Salt Marsh Meadows Cord grasses are the most common grasses along the fringe of North Carolina's salt marshes. They are true members of the grass family that have adapted to the harsh realities of a salty environment. Cord grasses inhabit the area of marsh above the mud flats that is submerged with salt water only at high tide. Unlike seagrasses, cord grasses do not tolerate total submergence in seawater. Their leaves must always remain exposed to the air. Salt glands in the cord grass leaves excrete excess salt taken up by the plant. And extensive horizontal rhizomes stretch through the marsh mud, securing sediments and adding to the marsh landscape. ? Wetlands May Help Clean Up Landfills Most people don't think about their trash once it has left the curbside, but garbage can affect the environment long after it's buried in a landfill. The prob- lem is leachate, a product of decomposing refuse and precipita- tion that soaks through. Sea Grant and North Carolina State University researchers are exploring new ways to treat this polluted wastewater with man- made wetlands that mimic natural filtering systems. In 1995, two types of wetlands were planted at the New Hanover County landfill to test their ability to remove nitrogen from the leachate, says Barbara Doll, Sea Grant's water quality specialist. The two-year monitoring effort began in January 1996. This work is important as North Carolina struggles with the problem of excess nutrients (especially nitrogen) and oxygen-demanding pollution running into its coast- bound rivers from nonpoint source runoff, agriculture, wastewater treatment plants and natural sources such as swamps. Earlier research has shown that constructed wetlands can effectively remove a series of pollutants known as biological oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids from wastewaters. But their ability to remove nitrogen is less certain. The
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