In pre-human times the streams flowing into Porirua Harbour meandered through extensive swampy marshlands. These rich ecosystems helped maintain the diversity of life in the harbour. Today few original swamps remain but volunteers have successfully recreated a varied marshland, the Pauatahanui Reserve, in the eastern corner of the Harbour.
Episode information
A salt marsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the intertidal zone between land and open salt water or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh trapping and binding sediments.