Managing Wetlands

A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.

 

Wetlands are the link between land and water, and are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world. Some common names for different types of wetlands are swamp, marsh and bog. Depending on the type of wetland, it may be filled mostly with trees, grasses, shrubs or moss. To be called a wetland, an area must be filled or soaked with water at least part of the year. Some wetlands are actually dry at certain times of the year!

 

Wetlands have many important functions that benefit people and wildlife.

• Provide habitat for a wide variety and number of wildlife and plants.
• Filter, clean and store water - in other words, acting like kidneys for other ecosystems!
• Collect and hold flood waters.
• Absorb wind and tidal forces.
• Provide places of beauty and many recreational activities

Wetland- Southern Ivory Coast (by Reun Moyse)

Wetlands also act like sponges by holding flood waters and keeping rivers at normal levels. Wetlands filter and purify water as it flows through the wetland system. Plants found in wetlands help control water erosion.

 

Other names for wetlands include: muskeg, moor, fen, carr, dambo, mangal, vlei, bayou, slough, pocosin, prairie pothole and vernal pools. Each type of wetland has characteristics specific to their part of the world.

 

More than one-third of the federally listed species on the Endangered Species Act rely directly, or indirectly, on wetlands for their survival.