Definitions
Seagrasses are monocotyledon flowering plants adapted to marine environments.
Seagrass beds or meadows are marine communities comprising seagrass species that provide habitat for many other organisms.
Introduction
Seagrasses are the only botanical species whose ancestors recolonized the sea. This unusual group of vascular plants is generally defined as a diverse assemblage of angiosperm, monocotyledon plants found in brackish or more usually in marine waters of relatively shallow tropical and temperate regions of the world. These submerged flowering organisms complete their entire life cycle underwater producing oxygen as they photosynthesize radiant energy. Seagrasses are normally rooted in thick, often vast, productive beds or meadows. As salt-water plants, they influence the physical, chemical, and geological processes affecting coastal environments in which they live by filtering waters and dissipating wave energy. Seagrasses also anchor sediments and thus provide...
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Merlin, M.D. (2011). Seagrasses. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_146
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