What is a wetland?
Water Classification• Wetlands are areas that are
covered by water or have waterlogged soils for long periods during the growing season.
• Plants growing in wetlands are capable of living in saturated soil conditions for at least part of the growing season.
• Sometimes may be unrecognizable as these areas will dry out.
• Wetlands are found from the tundra to the tropics and on every continent except Antarctica.
What is a wetland?•Three Classifications
–Ground Water–Hydrophylic Plants–Hydric Soil
Groundwater Classification
is at the surface or within the soil root zone during all or part of the growing season
Hydrophylic Plant Classification
• Plants adapted for growing in standing water or saturated soils, such as moss, sedges, reeds, cattail and horsetail, rice, mangroves, cypress, cranberries, etc.
Hydric Soil Classification
• Soils are characterized by frequent, prolonged saturation and low oxygen content, which lead to anaerobic chemical environments where reduced iron is present.
United State and Wetlands
Importance of Wetlands: Hydrologic
•Long term and short term water storage–Wetlands protect land from damage caused by flooding, storms and tidal damage
Importance of Wetlands: Water Filtration
•Wetlands remove nutrients from surface and ground water by filtering and by converting nutrients to forms that won’t harm the environment
Importance of Wetlands: Habitat
• There are a number of plant and animal species that can only survive in a wetland ecosystem
Wetland Improvements•Wetland Restoration
•Wetland Creation
•Wetland Enhancement
Wetland Restoration
• A degraded wetland or former wetland is returned to its previous condition as much as possible
Wetland Creation•A non-wetland area is converted into a wetland
Wetland Enhancement
•A function of the wetland is improved upon