Portal:Wetlands
Introduction
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. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica, the largest including the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, and the Pantanal in South America. The water found in wetlands can be freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens; and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, and varzea.
The UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the development of rapid assessment tools to inform people about wetland issues.
Constructed wetlands can be used to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as stormwater runoff and they also play a role in water-sensitive urban design.
Selected article
This is a woodland that occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. They are typical of river valley, the surroundings of mires and raised bog, the transition zones between open water and drier ground, and beside small winding streams. Alder, birches and willows are the characteristic trees found in this type of habitat, as they are able to extract oxygen from the water saturated habitat. The UK contains between 50–70,000 hectares (120–172,970 acres).
Wet woodland supports many types of species. E.g. the humidity favours bryophytes (mosses). Alder, birch and willows support many invertebrates: the beetles Melanopion minimum and Rhynchaenus testaceus, the craneflies Lipsothrix errans, Lipsothrix nervosa, and mammals such as otters.
In the UK Woodland Maintenance and Restoration grants are available to protect this type of Woodland under Natural England's Environmental Stewardship Scheme.
Within the British National Vegetation Classification seven types of Wet Woodland are recognised as part of the Woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. (Full article...)
General images
-
-
A small swamp in Padstow, New South Wales, Australia (from Swamp) -
Spaulding Fen, Wisconsin. (from Fen) -
Snapping turtles are one of the many kinds of turtles found in wetlands. (from Wetland) -
-
Small extreme rich fen in southwestern Minnesota. The white flowers, Parnassia glauca, are a fen indicator species in Minnesota. (from Fen) -
-
Sphagnum moss and sedges can produce floating bog mats along the shores of small lakes. This bog in Duck Lake, Oregon, US, supports populations of English sundew (Drosera anglica). (from Bog) -
-
-
Humid wetland in Pennsylvania before a rain (from Wetland) -
White water lilies are a typical marsh plant in European areas of deeper water. (from Marsh) -
-
Sugar Fen, Norfolk (from Fen) -
A bog in Ostfriesland (from Bog) -
Aerial view of prairie potholes (from Marsh) -
Bud of water lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), an aquatic plant (from Wetland) -
Marshlands are often noted within wetlands, as seen here in the New Jersey Meadowlands at Lyndhurst, New Jersey, U.S. (from Marsh) -
Difference between swamp and marsh (from Swamp) -
Carnivorous plants, such as this Sarracenia purpurea pitcher plant of the eastern seaboard of North America, are often found in bogs. Capturing insects provides nitrogen and phosphorus, which are usually scarce in such conditions. (from Bog) -
-
Marshlands are often noted within wetlands, as seen here at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York City. (from Wetland) -
Wicken Fen, England. Grasses in the foreground are typical of a fen. (from Fen) -
-
Kakerdaja Fen, Estonia (from Fen) -
Many kinds of birds nest in marshes; this one is a yellow-headed blackbird. (from Marsh) -
Wetlands contrast the hot, arid landscape around Middle Spring, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Utah. (from Wetland) -
-
-
-
The wetlands of Cape May, New Jersey, in the United States comprise an extensive hydrological network that makes them an ornithologically important location to study the many birds which use the preserve as a place to nest. (from Wetland) -
-
-
Dernford Fen, Cambridgeshire (from Fen) -
Marsh in shallow water on a lakeshore (from Marsh)
-
-
Many species of evergreen shrub are found in bogs, such as Labrador tea. (from Bog) -
A wetland in the Chesapeake Bay drainage basin in Mallows Bay Park in Charles County, Maryland, in the United States. (from Wetland) -
-
-
-
A raised bog in Ķemeri National Park, Jūrmala, Latvia, formed approximately 10,000 years ago in the postglacial period and now a tourist attraction. (from Bog) -
Precipitation accumulates in many bogs, forming bog pools, such as Koitjärve bog in Estonia. (from Bog) -
Vernal pools are ponded only during the wetter part of the year. (from Marsh) -
-
Marsh Arabs poling a mashoof (from Swamp) -
Wetland at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Massachusetts, United States, in February (from Wetland) -
Avaste Fen, Estonia. Sedges dominate the landscape, woody shrubs and trees are sparse. (from Fen) -
-
Bog with October morning mist in Mukri, Estonia (from Bog) -
Sunrise at Viru Bog, Estonia (from Wetland) -
An expanse of wet Sphagnum bog in Frontenac National Park, Quebec, Canada. Spruce trees can be seen on a forested ridge in the background. (from Bog) -
Fog rising over the Mukri bog near Mukri, Estonia. The bog has an area of 2,147 hectares (5,310 acres) and has been protected since 1992. (from Wetland)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=small}
%E2%80%93Valle_Carbajal_01.jpg)
.JPG)
Law
Selected picture
Did you know...
Categories
Related portals
Organizations
- America's Wetland Foundation
- Birds Korea
- Delta Waterfowl Foundation
- Ducks Unlimited
- Foundation for Ecological Security
- Irish Peatland Conservation Council
- National Wetlands Coalition
- Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
- Union Sportsmen's Alliance
- Wetlands International
- Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Topics
- Acrotelm
- Aquatic ecosystem
- Aquatic plants
- Atchafalaya Basin
- Backswamp
- Bayou
- Beach meadow
- Blackwater river
- Blanket bog
- Bog
- Bog bodies
- Bog butter
- Bog garden
- Bog iron
- Bog snorkelling
- Bog-wood
- Brackish marsh
- Callows
- Carr (landform)
- Cataract bog
- Cienega
- Coniferous swamp
- Converted wetland
- Dambo
- Drainage basin
- Drought refuge
- Estuary
- Everglades
- Fen
- Fen-meadow
- Flark
- Flooded grasslands and savannas
- Flood-meadow
- Floodplain
- Freshwater swamp forest
- Grass valley
- Guelta
- Halosere
- High Fens
- High marsh
- Hamuns
- Hydric soil
- Hydrology
- Hydrosere
- Igapó
- Ings
- Integrated constructed wetland
- Interdunal wetland
- Intertidal wetland
- Kettle (landform)
- Lagoon
- Lake ecosystem
- Limnology
- List of bogs
- List of fen plants
- Low marsh
- Meadowview Biological Research Station
- Marsh
- Marsh gas
- Mere
- Mire
- Misse
- Moorland
- Muck
- Mudflat
- Muskeg
- Myristica swamp
- Oasis
- Ombrotrophic
- Paludification
- Palustrine wetland
- Pantanal
- Peat
- Peat swamp forest
- Pond
- Pothole
- Prairie Pothole Region
- Ramsar site
- Reed bed
- Restoration of the Everglades
- Riparian zone
- River delta
- River ecosystem
- Salt marsh
- Salt marsh dieback
- Salt marsh die-off
- Salt pannes and pools
- Shrub swamp
- Slough (hydrology)
- Sphagnum
- String bog
- Sudd
- Swale
- Swamp
- Tropical peat
- Várzea forest
- Vernal pool
- Water stagnation
- Wetland classification
- Wetland conservation
- Wetland indicator status
- Wetland methane emissions
- Wetlands International
- Wetlands
- Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
- Will-o'-the-wisp
- Yaéré
| Large-scale features | |
|---|---|
| Alluvial rivers | |
| Bedrock river | |
| Bedforms | |
| Regional processes | |
| Mechanics | |
Things you can do
- Create articles: There are many articles that have yet to be started... Pick your favorite and start researching!
- Find photos for articles: Many wetlands–related articles would be substantially better with the addition of one or more photographs. Feel free to take your own and upload them, or find ones with the appropriate licenses and upload them here!
- Categorize articles: Figure out what categories to add to each article so that others can find them more easily.
- Expand articles: There are many wetland stubs which could use extensive updates and development.
- Find sources: Many of our articles are poorly sourced and could use much better citations.
- Wikify: Add {{Portal|Wetlands}} to the See also sections of Wetlands-related articles.
WikiProjects
Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
