Seagrass and Salt Marsh Ecosystems in South Asia: An Overview of Diversity, Distribution, Threats and Conservation Status

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have extensive coastal and marine ecosystems. Seagrassbeds and salt marshesare coastal ecosystems restricted to the subtidal and intertidal zoneranging from shallow water in the case of seagrassto the high upland of intertidal zonein case of salt marsh. The chapter provides an overview of the salt marshand seagrassecosystems in India and other South Asian countries. Despite their significant ecological importance, seagrassand salt marshecosystems are relatively under-explored or unexplored, particularly in the South Asian countries. Fifteen species of seagrassare reported from South Asian region, all of which are found in India. They are distributed along the coastal states/union territories except Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, Puducherry and West Bengal. The salt marshspecies diversity in India and the Maldives is not reported. The chapter provides checklist of salt marshesof India, represented by 14 species, which are distributed along Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.