Portal:Wetlands

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Wetlands Portal

Introduction

A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica, the largest including the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, and the Pantanal in South America. The water found in wetlands can be freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens; and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, and varzea.

The UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the development of rapid assessment tools to inform people about wetland issues.

Constructed wetlands can be used to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as stormwater runoff and they also play a role in water-sensitive urban design.

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Poplar growing on muskeg

Muskeg is an acidic soil type common in Arctic and boreal areas, although it is found in other northern climates as well. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland, but "muskeg" is the standard term in Western Canada and Alaska, while 'bog' is common elsewhere. The term became common in these areas because it is of Cree origin; maskek (ᒪᐢᑫᐠ) meaning low-lying marsh. Large tracts of this soil existing in Siberia may be called muskeg or bogland interchangeably.

Muskeg consists of dead plants in various states of decomposition (as peat), ranging from fairly intact sphagnum moss, to sedge peat, to highly decomposed humus. Pieces of wood can make up five to 15 percent of the peat soil. Muskeg tends to have a water table near the surface. The sphagnum moss forming it can hold 15 to 30 times its own weight in water, allowing the spongy wet muskeg to form on sloping ground. Muskeg patches are ideal habitats for beavers, pitcher plants, agaric mushrooms and a variety of other organisms.

Muskeg forms because permafrost, clay or bedrock prevents water drainage. The water from rain and snow collects, forming permanently waterlogged vegetation and stagnant pools. Muskeg is wet, acidic, and relatively infertile, which prevents large trees from growing, although stunted shore pine, cottonwood, some species of willow, and black spruce are typically found in these habitats. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various wetland-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Marsh Arabs poling a mashoof (from Swamp)
Image 2Wetlands contrast the hot, arid landscape around Middle Spring, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Utah (from Wetland)
Image 3A bog in Lauhanvuori National Park, Isojoki, Finland (from Bog)
Image 4Kakerdaja Fen, Estonia (from Fen)
Image 5Aerial image of Carbajal Valley peat bogs, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina (from Bog)
Image 6Vernal pools are ponded only during the wetter part of the year. (from Marsh)
Image 7Fog rising over the Mukri bog near Mukri, Estonia. The bog has an area of 2,147 hectares (5,310 acres) and has been protected since 1992. (from Wetland)
Image 8Spaulding Fen, Wisconsin. (from Fen)
Image 9The Linnaistensuo Mire, a nature reserve swamp in Lahti, Finland. (from Swamp)
Image 10A bog in Ostfriesland (from Bog)
Image 11Peat bog and peat to dry, L'Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec, Canada, 1976 (from Bog)
Image 12Marshlands are often noted within wetlands, as seen here in the New Jersey Meadowlands at Lyndhurst, New Jersey, U.S. (from Marsh)
Image 13Blanket bog in Connemara, Ireland (from Bog)
Image 14Many kinds of birds nest in marshes; this one is a yellow-headed blackbird. (from Marsh)
Image 15Wetland at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Massachusetts, United States, in February (from Wetland)
Image 16A small swamp in Padstow, New South Wales, Australia (from Swamp)
Image 17A freshwater swamp in Florida, United States (from Swamp)
Image 18A marsh in Jyväskylä, Finland (from Marsh)
Image 19Sugar Fen, Norfolk (from Fen)
Image 20Avaste Fen, Estonia. Sedges dominate the landscape, woody shrubs and trees are sparse. (from Fen)
Image 21A black alder swamp in Germany (from Swamp)
Image 22Pantanal in Brazil (from Swamp)
Image 23Tourbière du Lac-à-la-Tortue (fr), ombrotrophic, Quebec, Canada (from Bog)
Image 24Snapping turtles are one of the many kinds of turtles found in wetlands. (from Wetland)
Image 25Bud of water lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), an aquatic plant. (from Wetland)
Image 26Humid wetland in Pennsylvania before a rain. (from Wetland)
Image 27White water lilies are a typical marsh plant in European areas of deeper water. (from Marsh)
Image 28An expanse of wet Sphagnum bog in Frontenac National Park, Quebec, Canada. Spruce trees can be seen on a forested ridge in the background. (from Bog)
Image 29Dernford Fen, Cambridgeshire (from Fen)
Image 30Sunrise at Viru Bog, Estonia (from Wetland)
Image 31Carnivorous plants, such as this Sarracenia purpurea pitcher plant of the eastern seaboard of North America, are often found in bogs. Capturing insects provides nitrogen and phosphorus, which are usually scarce in such conditions. (from Bog)
Image 32Small extreme rich fen in southwestern Minnesota. The white flowers, Parnassia glauca, are a fen indicator species in Minnesota. (from Fen)
Image 33Difference between swamp and marsh (from Swamp)
Image 34Bog with October morning mist in Mukri, Estonia (from Bog)
Image 35A raised bog in Ķemeri National Park, Jūrmala, Latvia, formed approximately 10,000 years ago in the postglacial period and now a tourist attraction. (from Bog)
Image 36The wetlands of Cape May, New Jersey, U.S. comprise an extensive hydrological network that makes them an ornithologically important location to study the many birds which use the preserve as a place to nest. (from Wetland)
Image 37Aerial view of prairie potholes (from Marsh)
Image 38Precipitation accumulates in many bogs, forming bog pools, such as Koitjärve bog in Estonia. (from Bog)
Image 39Many species of frogs live in wetlands, while others visit them each year to lay eggs. (from Wetland)
Image 40Marsh in shallow water on a lakeshore (from Marsh)
Image 41A salt marsh in Scotland (from Marsh)
Image 42Marshlands are often noted within wetlands, as seen here at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York City. (from Wetland)
Image 43Swamp in southern Louisiana (from Swamp)
Image 44Wicken Fen, England. Grasses in the foreground are typical of a fen. (from Fen)
Image 45Sphagnum moss and sedges can produce floating bog mats along the shores of small lakes. This bog in Duck Lake, Oregon, US, supports populations of English sundew (Drosera anglica). (from Bog)
Image 46Sphagnum with northern pitcher plants at Brown's Lake Bog, Ohio, US (from Bog)
Image 47Inside a mangrove canopy, Salt Pan Creek, New South Wales (from Swamp)
Image 48A wet meadow adjacent to Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Mountains, California (from Marsh)
Image 49Bog-wood and boulders at the Stumpy Knowe near South Auchenmade, Ayrshire, Scotland (from Bog)
Image 50Viru Bog in Lahemaa National Park, Estonia, which is rich in raised bogs (from Bog)
Image 51Many species of evergreen shrub are found in bogs, such as Labrador tea. (from Bog)
Image 52The Sitniki peat bog in Russia recultivated after industrial use (from Bog)

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Credit: Marylou Jean, series of pictures taken in France, 2008.

Grey Heron.

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Did you know...

... that interdunal wetlands provide food eaten by many birds?

(Pictured left: An interdunal wetland in Gary, Indiana.)

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v t e River morphology
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