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Intermediate marsh-Typical vegetation is frequently dominated by Leptochloa fusca, Panicum virgatum, Paspalum vaginatum, Phragmites australis, or Schoenoplectus americanus. Both intermediate and brackish marshes can be dominated by Spartina patens, but intermediate marshes dominated by Spartina patens have a higher species richness often including Sagittaria lancifolia, Schoenoplectus americanus, Eleocharis spp., and (or) Cyperus spp. Brackish marsh-Typical vegetation is often dominated by Spartina patens but is occasionally dominated by Spartina cynosuroides, Spartina spartinae, or Bolboschoenus robustus. Both intermediate and brackish marshes can be dominated by Spartina patens, but brackish marshes dominated by Spartina patens typically have a small number of other species such as Spartina alterniflora, Distichlis spicata, Juncus roemerianus, or Bolboschoenus robustus. Saline (saltwater) marsh-Typical vegetation is frequently dominated by Spartina alterniflora, Distichlis spicata, or Avicennia germinans.

northern extent of fresh marshes to the southern end of saline (saltwater) marshes on the beaches of the gulf or of coastal bays. Navigation along these transects and to each sampling site was accomplished by using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and geographic information system (GIS) software operating on a ruggedized laptop, a procedure that was established during the 1997 vegetation survey by Chabreck and Linscombe. As the surveyors reached each sampling station, dominant plant species were listed and their abundance classified. Based on species composition and abundance each marsh sampling station was assigned a marsh type: fresh, intermediate, brackish, or saline (saltwater) marsh (Visser and others, 1998, 2000, 2002) The data generated from the survey were later delineated by using the same base map as that used to map the data collected during the 1997 (Chabreck and Linscombe) and 2001 (Linscombe and Chabreck, n.d.) surveys. Delineations of marsh boundaries usually followed natural levees, bayous, or other features that impede or restrict water flow.

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