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A water-purifying plant (Iris pseudacorus) in growth after winter (leaves die at that time of year) The choice of plants in engineered wet-lands or managed lagoons is dependent on the purification requirements of the system and this may involve plantings of varying plant species at a range of depths to achieve the required goal.
Contour buffer strips used to retain soil and reduce erosion. A buffer strip is an area of land maintained in permanent vegetation that helps to control air quality, soil quality, and water quality, along with other environmental problems, dealing primarily on land that is used in agriculture.
Shrubs and small trees begin to grow on these. Shrub swamp water comes from run-off, streams and rivers and the water moves in and out of the swamp throughout the year. Consequently, they tend to be drier than wet meadows or forested swamps and permit water intolerant plant species to grow on the hummocks.
The water balance has four main components: infiltration of precipitation into the soil, evapotranspiration, leakage of water into deeper portions of the soil not accessible to the plant, and runoff from the ground surface. It is described by the following equation:
It provides a hospitable place for a plant to live in while storing and supplying nutrients to plants. Soil also functions by maintaining the quantity and quality of air by allowing CO 2 to escape and fresh O 2 to enter the root zone. [7] Pore spaces within soil can also absorb water and hold it until plant roots need it.
A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. The word derives from Ancient Greek ἅλας (halas) 'salt' and φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'.
When the soil moisture content is optimal for plant growth, the water in the large and intermediate size pores can move about in the soil and be easily used by plants. [9] The amount of water remaining in a soil drained to field capacity and the amount that is available are functions of the soil type.
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.