Ballona Wetlands
Riparian and Freshwater Marsh

Even though the Ballona Wetlands are a predominantly saline habitat, they support quite a few plants which require freshwater.  This fact stems from the history of the wetlands as the mouth of the Los Angeles River and Ballona Creek.  Plant species with these requirements are found in the riparian woodland and freshwater marsh communities.

Species of these communities require some source of fresh water, whether on the surface or underground.  They are termed hydrophytes and normally occur near streams, rivers or ponds.

At Ballona, freshwater marsh species occur along the course of Centinela Creek, in the Jefferson storm drain, in the marsh near the gas company plant, and in depressions near the dunes.  Several species of plants normally found in riparian areas occur near the dunes and seem to be subsisting on subsurface supplies of fresh water.

These freshwater species and others will be augmented by the restoration of the freshwater marsh west of Lincoln Boulevard and the riparian corridor east of Lincoln Boulevard.

Riparian and freshwater plants found at Ballona include such species as:

Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii)
Willows (Salix sp.)
Cattails (Typha latifolia)
Bulrush (Scirpus robustus)
Tule (Scirpus americanus)

Riparian woodland description in so. Calif. Natural History Web pages.

Freshwater marsh description in so. Calif. Natural History Web pages.

Other plant communities in the Ballona Wetlands:
Subtidal Areas
Intertidal Mudflats
Coastal Salt Marsh
Coastal Strand
Coastal Sage Scrub

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