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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 ...
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.
The biotic characteristics are mainly determined by the organisms that occur. For example, wetland plants may produce dense canopies that cover large areas of sediment—or snails or geese may graze the vegetation leaving large mud flats. Aquatic environments have relatively low oxygen levels, forcing adaptation by the organisms found there.
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.
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.
The wetland receives most of its water and nutrients from precipitation (ombrotrophic) rather than surface or groundwater (minerotrophic). The wetland is nutrient-poor (oligotrophic). The wetland is strongly acidic (bogs near coastal areas may be less acidic due to sea spray). Because all bogs have peat, they are a type of peatland.
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are seasonal pools of water that provide habitat for distinctive plants and animals. They are considered to be a distinctive type of wetland usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species unable to withstand competition or predation by ...
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 ]