Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A wetland (aerial view) Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas of land including marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens that are covered by water seasonally or permanently due to a variety of threats from both natural and anthropogenic hazards. Some examples of these hazards include habitat loss, pollution, and invasive species.
The degree of salinity in an estuary or delta is an important control upon the type of wetland (fresh, intermediate, or brackish), and the associated animal species. Dams built upstream may reduce spring flooding, and reduce sediment accretion, and may therefore lead to saltwater intrusion in coastal wetlands. [20]
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.
Restoring wetlands provides numerous benefits, and can present a valuable and cost-effective opportunity for society to enhance health and well-being. Restoration interventions can help to improve and bring back ecosystems previously impacted by anthropogenic disturbances, and often involves the purchase of uplands in a variety of conditions.
Wetland's ability to absorb water also assists groundwater recharge, which is very important for human water use, as usable freshwater sources are dwindling. Wetlands are not only freshwater habitats and systems, as there are salt marshes and bogs that support different species.
Children celebrating World Wetlands Day. World Wetlands Day is an environmentally related celebration which dates back to the year 1971 when several environmentalists gathered to reaffirm protection and love for wetlands, [1] which are water ecosystems containing plant life and other organisms that bring ecological health in abundance to not only water bodies but environments as a whole.
There are a number of government agencies in the United States that are in some way concerned with the protection of wetlands. The top five are the Army Corps of Engineers (ACoE), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [5]
Wetlands can be found in Canada's broad ranges of ecozones spanning across the provinces and territories. In Canada, there is approximately 1.29 million km 2 of wetlands which in turn covers 13% of Canada's terrestrial area. [5] Canadian wetlands are predominantly located within the Boreal Shield which accounts for 25% of the existing wetland ...