Plant habitat interactions in brackish marshes : coping with adapting to and modifying the environment Estuarine marshes are ecosystems that are situated at the transition zone between land and water and are thus controlled by physical and biological interactions. Marsh vegetation offers important ecosystem services by filtrating solid and dissolved substances from the water and providing habitat. By buffering a large part of the arriving flow velocity attenuating wave energy and serving as erosion control for riverbanks tidal marshes furthermore reduce the destructive effects of storm surges and storm waves and thus contribute to ecosystem based shore protection. However in many estuaries extensive embankments artificial bank protection river dredging and agriculture threaten tidal marshes. Global warming might entail additional risks such as changes in water levels an increase of the tidal amplitude and a resulting shift of the salinity zones. This can affect the dynamics of the shore and foreland vegetation and vegetation belts can be narrowed or fragmented. Against this background it is crucial to gain a better…