Abstract
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The vegetational and geomorphological characteristics of swamps at Barkers Peninsula and West Bay Peninsula are described, and models of the development of swamps in these areas proposed. The swamplands are composed of Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans and Laguncularia racemosa. While a broad zonation of these species can be recognized, the vegetation pattern is complicated by stands of swampland species of distinct physiognomy or by associations of species. Development of mangrove swamps has been controlled principally by the relationship between land and sea; expansion of mangroves has been determined by the topography of the pre- Holocene bedrock surface and prevailing wave and current energy conditions. This extension of mangroves has generally been in a landward direction, into previously terrestrial environments. -from Author