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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. Salix, the willows, are native to many areas throughout the world, usually in riparian ecosystems.
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]
Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs, fens, pocosins, tundra and floodplains. According to the Cowardin classification system, palustrine wetlands can also be considered the area on the side of a river or a lake, as long as they are covered by vegetation such as trees, shrubs, and emergent plants. [1]
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 wetland status of 7,000 plants is determined upon information contained in a list compiled in the National Wetland Inventory undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and developed in cooperation with a federal inter-agency review panel (Reed, 1988). The National List was compiled in 1988 with subsequent revisions in 1996 and 1998.
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. For example, many wetland plants must produce aerenchyma to
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.
The main types of intertidal wetlands are mudflats (e.g., mangrove swamps) and salt marshes. The mangrove swamps are encountered along tropical shores and are characterized by tree vegetation, while salt marshes are mostly found in temperate zones and are mostly grass ecosystems. [1] Intertidal wetlands are commonly encountered in most estuaries.