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Wetlands have unique characteristics: they are generally distinguished from other water bodies or landforms based on their water level and on the types of plants that live within them. Specifically, wetlands are characterized as having a water table that stands at or near the land surface for a long enough period each year to support aquatic ...
The wetlands are classified into three major classes: Marine/coastal wetlands; Inland wetlands; Human-made wetlands; These are further subdivided by the type of water: fresh / saline / brackish / alkaline; and may be further classified by the substrate type of other characteristics.
A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. [1] Wet prairies and wet savannas are hydrologically similar.
Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. [19] The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. [18] 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.
There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems: Lentic (slow moving water, including pools, ponds, and lakes), lotic (faster moving water, for example streams and rivers) and wetlands (areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least part of the time). [9] [8] Freshwater ecosystems contain 41% of the world's known fish species ...
Fen, being a distinct type of wetland, shares many biogeochemical characteristics with other wetlands. [19] Like all wetlands, they play an important role in nutrient cycling because they are located at the interface of aerobic (oxic) and anaerobic (anoxic) environments. [ 11 ]
Pistia, a genus with one species that is native to tropical environments and has further extended its range as an introduced species. Phragmites is a genus of plants known as reeds. Pondweeds are a family of aquatic plant with a subcosmopolitan distribution. Sagittaria is a genus of plants known as arrowhead or katniss.
Wetlands are not only freshwater habitats and systems, as there are salt marshes and bogs that support different species. [ 7 ] Carolina Bays (also known as pocosins, meaning "swamp on a hill") are a unique form of wetland predominately found in the Carolinas, with a few being found outside of the Carolinas along the East Coast of the United ...