inlands, wetlands, swamps, marshes

8/6/2019 Inlands, Wetlands, Swamps, Marshes

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A wetland is an area ofland whose soil is saturated

with moisture eitherpermanently or seasonally.

Such areas may also be

covered partially orcompletely by shallow

pools of water.



� Such areas may also be covered

partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands includeswamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands

can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. The world's largest wetland is the Pantanal which straddles

Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay inSouth America.



� Wetlands are considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems.Plant life found in wetlands includesmangrove, water lilies, cattails,

sedges, tamarack, black spruce,cypress, gum, and many others. Animal life includes many different amphibians, reptiles, birds, insects,and mammals.



� Wetlands have been categorized both as biomes and ecosystems. A patch of land

that develops pools of water after a rainstorm would not be considered a "wetland" though the land is wet. 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 thrive within them. Specifically, wetlands arecharacterized as having a water table that

stands at or near the land surface for a long enough season each year to support aquatic plants. Put simply, wetlands are lands made up of hydric soil.



� Temperatures vary greatly depending on the location of the wetland. Many of the world's wetlands are in temperate zones (midway between the North and South Poles and the equator). In

these zones, summers are warm and winters arecold, but temperatures are not extreme. However, wetlands found in the tropic zone, which isaround the equator, are always warm.Temperatures in wetlands on the Arabian

Peninsula, for example, can reach 50 °C (122 °F).In northeastern Siberia, which has a polarclimate, wetland temperatures can be as cold así50 °C (í58 °F). And in a moderate zone, such as the Gulf of Mexico, is usually 11 °C (51 °F).



� The amount of rainfall a wetland receivesdepends upon its location. Wetlands in Wales, Scotland, and Western Ireland

receive about 150 cm (59 in) per year.Those in Southeast Asia, where heavy rains occur, can receive up to 1000 cm(200 in) In the northern areas of North

America, wetlands exist where as little as18 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fall eachmonth



A swamp is a wetland with someflooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp

generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions,

covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical

inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp forests

and "transitional" or shrub swamps.The water of a swamp may be fresh water, brackish water or seawater.



SWAMP FORESTS SHRUB FORESTS

� Freshwater swamp for

ests,or

flooded

forests, are forestswhich are inundatedwith freshwater, eitherpermanently or

seasonally.

� Shrub swamps, alsocalled scrub swamps or

buttonbush swamps, area type of freshwaterwetland ecosystemoccurring in areas too wetto become hardwood

swamps (´trueµ orforested swamps), but toodry or too shallow tobecome marshes.



� Swamps are characterized by very slow-moving waters. They are usually associated with adjacent rivers or lakes. In some cases, rivers become

swamps for a distance. Swamps arefeatures of areas with very low topographic relief.



� Swamps and other wetlands have

traditionally held a very low property value compared to fields, prairies, or woodlands. They have a reputation as being unproductive land that can't be

easily utilized for human activities,other than perhaps hunting and trapping. Farmers for example

typically drained swamps next to their fields so as to gain more land usable for planting crops.



� Societies now generally understand

that swamps are critically important in the processes of providing fresh water and oxygen to all life, and areoften breeding grounds for a wide

variety of life. Government environmental agencies (such as theDepartment of Natural Resources in

the United States) are taking steps to protect and preserve swamps and other wetlands.



� However, the generally messy nature

of swamps, with their diffuse boundaries and lack of enclosure, prevents humans from being able tocollect and capitalize on their precious natural resources.Generally swamps are assessed as having low land value even while they

are being protected from damage.



In geography, a marsh, ormorass, is a type of wetland

that is subject to frequent orcontinuous flood.



Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous

plants, and moss.



� A marsh is different from a swamp, which has a greater proportion of open

water surface and may be deeper than a marsh.

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Marsh provides habitat which supports a diversecollection of animals. Evidence of beaver activity is visible along the haul road and beavers, along withmuskrats, can most often be seen in the early evening swimming in the marsh. Other mammalspecies observed include gray squirrels, cottontail

rabbits, shrews, field mice, river otters, red fox, little brown bats, and whitetail deer. Marsh-dwelling fishinclude carp, bullhead, chain pickerel, shad, striped

bass, and shiners. Reptiles such as snapping turtlesand northern water snakes, and amphibians such asfrogs, are also common.

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Inland is an area of land away from the coast or

shore line. It usually refers to the interior part of a

country or region.

inlands, wetlands, swamps, marshes

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