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In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants. [1] More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying meadows that require draining and embanked polderlands are also referred to as marshes or marshland.
Freshwater marsh, Naselle River, Washington Freshwater marsh in Kittery Point, Maine. A freshwater marsh is a non-forested marsh wetland that contains shallow fresh water, and is continuously or frequently flooded. [1] [2] Freshwater marshes primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants.
An ecological definition of a wetland is "an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic and aerobic processes, which, in turn, forces the biota, particularly rooted plants, to adapt to flooding". [1] Sometimes a precise legal definition of a wetland is required.
Tidal salt marsh at Ella Nore in Chichester, England. A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. [1]
Reed beds are a common form of lakeside ecotone. The beds tend to accumulate organic matter which is then colonised by trees, forcing the reeds further into the lake. An ecotone is a transitional area between two plant communities, [1] where these meet and integrate. [2]
Palustrine wetlands include any inland wetland that contains ocean-derived salts in concentrations of less than 0.5 parts per thousand, and is non-tidal. [1] The word palustrine comes from the Latin word palus or marsh. [2] Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs, fens, pocosins, tundra and floodplains.
Determining the boundary of wetland, whether jurisdictional under sections 404 or 10, or not jurisdictional but still meeting the technical definition of a wetland, that is having the soils, vegetation and hydrology criterion met is called a "wetland delineation", and generally is performed by college graduates with natural science or biology ...
The salinity levels in brackish marshes can range from 0.5 ppt to 35 ppt. [2] Marshes are also characterised by low-growing vegetation and bare mud or sand flats. [3] Due to the variations in salinity, brackish marshes create a distinctive ecosystem where plants from either freshwater or saltwater marshes can co-inhabit. [4]