June 2020 • Nebraskaland 33
the saltiness of the plant's sap. High
salt levels are needed in the roots for
osmosis to draw water in from the soil.
The wind-pollinated fl owers bloom
in late summer and consist of minute
depressions in the stem. The tiny,
green petals ring the depression. A
single seed ripens within the stem as
it fades to scarlet red then brownish in
early fall.
The briny water feeding the marshes,
and on which saltwort depends, is of
ancient origin. During the Cretaceous
Period, some 70 to 160 million years
ago when central North America was
a vast inland sea, the salts were laid
down in shale sediments on the sea
fl oor. Today, the now deeply buried
salts reach the surface by becoming
dissolved in groundwater that
artesian fl ow carries upward through
overlying layers of porous sandstone
to the marsh fl oor. Over millennia,
evaporation has concentrated the
salts in these wetland soils.
Decline of the saline wetlands began
soon after settlement when newly
plowed upland soils washed down into
the marshes burying their salt-laden
topsoil with several feet of sediment.
Many marshes were drained or fi lled
as the city of Lincoln grew. Beginning
about 1900, stream channelization
turned the shallow, meandering creek
beds bordering the marshes into deep
canals that drained saline groundwater
before it could seep into the marshes.
And fi nally, increased overland fl ow of
rainwater and snowmelt from urban
areas and crop fi elds into the wetlands
further diluted the saline soils, setting
the stage for invasion by the highly-
aggressive reed canary grass, narrow-
leaf cattail and other non-native
plants. As its habitat declined, so did
saltwort.
Today there are 10 known
populations of saltwort remaining
in Lancaster County. Conservation
groups have conserved through
acquisition and easements nearly
4,900 acres of land containing saline
wetlands and restoration has occurred
on several of these wetlands, mainly
through the plugging of drainage
ditches. Although this practice
restored wetland hydrology, it did
little to enhance salinity and saltwort
habitat.
Returning the Salt of the
Earth
A few months ago, Dan Schulz,
resources coordinator with the Lower
Platte South Natural Resources
District, told me about the unique
salt marsh restoration occurring at
his agency's Marsh Wren Wetland,
At Marsh Wren, gated irrigation pipe is used to release salty groundwater into the
marshes. The Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership directed the salt marsh
restorations at this site. The Nebraska Environmental Trust provided project
funding.
PHOTO
BY
GERRY
STEINAUER