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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An alder carr at Moor Park, Surrey

A carr is a type of waterlogged wooded terrain that, typically, represents a succession stage between the original reedy swamp and the eventual formation of forest in a sub-maritime climate. The name derives from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a swamp. The carr is one stage in a hydrosere: the progression of vegetation beginning from a terrain submerged by fresh water along a river or lake margin. In sub-maritime regions, it begins with reed-swamp. As the reeds decay, the soil surface eventually rises above the water, creating fens that allow vegetation such as sedge to grow. As this progression continues, riparian trees and bushes appear and a carr landscape is created–in effect a wooded fen in a waterlogged terrain. At this stage the pH is not too acidic and the soil is not too deficient in mineral elements. Characteristic trees include alder, willow and sallow. (Full article...)

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

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

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Firefly

Credit: User:Quit007

Fireflies in the forest near Nuremberg.

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Did you know...

... that wetlands are among the earth's most productive ecosystems?

(Pictured left: Volcanic mudflow vernal pool.)

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v t e River morphology
Large-scale features	Alluvial plain Drainage basin Drainage system (geomorphology) Estuary Strahler number (stream order) River valley River delta River sinuosity
Alluvial rivers	Anabranch Avulsion (river) Bar (river morphology) Braided river Channel pattern Cut bank Floodplain Meander Meander cutoff Mouth bar Oxbow lake Point bar Riffle Rapids Riparian zone River bifurcation River channel migration River mouth Slip-off slope Stream pool Thalweg
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Regional processes	Aggradation Base level Degradation (geology) Erosion and tectonics River rejuvenation
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