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Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. [3] The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. [2] The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent herbaceous vegetation such as reeds, cattails and sedges.
Woody plants, if present, account for a minority of the total area cover. High water levels are one of the important factors that prevent invasion by woody plants; in other cases, fire is important. [3] In areas with low frequencies of fire, or reduced water level fluctuations, or higher fertility, plant diversity will decline. [1]
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 ...
Derelict water-meadows are often of importance as wetland wildlife habitats. Water-meadows should not be confused with flood-meadows, which are naturally covered in shallow water by seasonal flooding from a river. "Water-meadow" is sometimes used more loosely to mean any level grassland beside a river.
A wetland (aerial view) Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas of land including marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens that are covered by water seasonally or permanently due to a variety of threats from both natural and anthropogenic hazards. Some examples of these hazards include habitat loss, pollution, and invasive species.
The plants found in hydric soils often have aerenchyma, internal spaces in stems and rhizomes, that allow atmospheric oxygen to be transported to the rooting zone. [2] Hence, many wetlands are dominated by plants with aerenchyma; [3] common examples include cattails, sedges and water-lilies.
Wetlands are frequently being destroyed for development, agriculture, and other uses. Wetlands have decreased by as much as 50% since 1900 and in some parts of the world by 90%. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] Inland wetlands, freshwater marshes making up about 20-25% of all freshwater wetlands globally, [ 21 ] have been decreasing approximately 1.2% each year ...
A restored cienega in Balmorhea State Park. A ciénega (also spelled ciénaga) is a wetland system unique to the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.Ciénagas are alkaline, freshwater, spongy, wet meadows with shallow-gradient, permanently saturated soils in otherwise arid landscapes that often occupy nearly the entire widths of valley bottoms.