Puttalam Lagoon hypersaline flats: mangrove dwarfism and halophyte vegetation?
3 Answers from travellers
The dwarfism observed in Avicennia marina stands along the hypersaline back-pans of Puttalam Lagoon is a physiological survival adaptation to hyper-osmotic environmental stress. Pore-water salinity across these tidal salt flats regularly exceeds 65-80 PSU (parts per thousand) during dry periods, which is more than double standard ocean salinity. To extract moisture, the plants must generate negative internal osmotic pressures, which consumes significant metabolic energy. This energy diversion suppresses cell elongation and apical canopy growth, resulting in gnarled, micro-leaved dwarf bushes less than 1 meter tall that survive where other wetland flora wither.
Avicennia leaves secrete excess absorbed salts through microscopic salt glands on their surfaces, leaving a visible white crystalline crust on hot afternoons.
These stunted salt marsh flats host specialized benthic invertebrates that attract foraging winter waders like Curlew Sandpipers and Red-necked Phalaropes.
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