types of wetlands

Due to the nutrient-rich soils present in swamps, many of these fertile woodlands have been drained and cleared for agriculture and other development. Bogs are unique communities that can be destroyed in a matter of days but require hundreds, if not thousands, of years to form naturally. The Cowardin system includes five major wetland types: marine, tidal, lacustrine, palustrine and riverine. and Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris) predominates. Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) sprouts very early in the spring, melting the surrounding snow.

0000261988 00000 n The soil itself is a mixture of peat and sand containing large amounts of charcoal from periodic burnings. This Eastern Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus) is resting on sphagnum moss. 0000005910 00000 n 0000010813 00000 n Habitat is the most valuable function of Pocosins. The Sweet Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia rubra) is one of the carnivorous plants found in pocosins. Bogs support some of the most interesting plants in the United States (like the carnivorous Sundew) and provide habitat to animals threatened by human encroachment. 0000002628 00000 n Marshes are defined as wetlands frequently or continually inundated with water, characterized by emergent soft-stemmed vegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions. Sphagnum creates bogs by holding water and creating acidic conditions. 0000337331 00000 n 0000013456 00000 n Some are freshwater marshes, others are brackish (somewhat salty), and still others are saline (salty), but they are all influenced by the motion of ocean tides. As a result, marshes sustain a diversity of life that is disproportionate with their size. In this system, wetlands are classified by landscape position, vegetation cover and hydrologic regime. Fens, like bogs, are peatlands, but because they are fed by groundwater they are not so acidic as bogs. This realization has spurred enhanced protection and restoration of marsh ecosystems, such as the prairie potholes and the Everglades. Some have been degraded by excessive deposits of nutrients and sediment from construction and farming. Showy Lady Slipper, Cypripedium reginae, is an example of a unique plant that thrives in fens. Today, timber harvesting, peat mining, and phosphate mining join agriculture as the biggest threats to the remaining undisturbed pocosins.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. 0000012555 00000 n Like most peatlands, fens experienced a decline in acreage at a rate of about eight percent from 1950 to 1970, mostly from mining and draining for cropland, fuel and fertilizer. Weird & Wacky, Copyright © 2020 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. Below are brief descriptions of the major types of wetlands found in the United States organized into four general categories: marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens. 0000003406 00000 n Swamps frequently support highly diverse vegetation because of the many layers of vegetation present: shrubs, saplings, and herbaceous plants. 0000006640 00000 n Fortunately, most states have enacted special laws to protect tidal marshes, but diligence is needed to assure that these protective measures are actively enforced. Northern bogs are generally associated with low temperatures and short growing seasons where ample precipitation and high humidity cause excessive moisture to accumulate. 0000020814 00000 n Another common wetland classification system, used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was developed by Brinson and is described in A Hydrogeomorphic Classification for Wetlands.

Common causes of natural wetlands include: In addition­, wetlands ­might form when beavers dam a river or stream. Over time, peat may build up and separate the fen from its groundwater supply.

0000004637 00000 n In fact, forested and shrub swamps are often found adjacent to one another.

45 0 obj << /Linearized 1 /O 47 /H [ 2033 388 ] /L 1316961 /E 337597 /N 2 /T 1315943 >> endobj xref 45 80 0000000016 00000 n Moose, deer, and lynx are a few of the animals that can be found in northern bogs.

Groundwater close to the surface that continually flows up, Information about the device's operating system, Information about other identifiers assigned to the device, The IP address from which the device accesses a client's website or mobile application, Information about the user's activity on that device, including web pages and mobile apps visited or used, Information about the geographic location of the device when it accesses a website or mobile application. Common Cattail (Typha latifolia) is a freshwater and estuarine marsh species.

They frequently occur along streams in poorly drained depressions and in the shallow water along the boundaries of lakes, ponds and rivers. If the information you are looking for is not here, you may be able to find it on the EPA Web Archive or the January 19, 2017 Web Snapshot. The ridges of these patterned fens form perpendicular to the downslope direction of water movement. Historically, pocosins were mostly threatened by agriculture. These systems are often covered by grasses, sedges, rushes and wildflowers. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Sometimes, they are covered by many feet of very slowly moving or standing water. Shrub swamps are similar to forested swamps except that shrubby vegetation such as Buttonbush, Willow, Dogwood (Cornus sp.) precipitation, groundwater or surface water) and hydrodynamics. Salt marshes experience a higher degree of salt water flooding from the ocean than Brackish Marshes, due to high tides twice a day. 0000021497 00000 n 0000022407 00000 n The saline marsh is covered by water only sporadically and is characterized by Short Smooth Cordgrass, Spike Grass and Saltmeadow Rush (Juncus gerardii). Historically, swamps have been portrayed as frightening no-man's-lands. The Northern Pitcher Plant's flower looks much like the Sweet Pitcher Plant's (see below). 0000007325 00000 n Swamps are characterized by saturated soils during the growing season and standing water during certain times of the year. 0000011861 00000 n Because of the large historical loss of this ecosystem type, remaining fens are that much more rare, and it is crucial to protect them. Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem. Highly organic, mineral rich soils of sand, silt, and clay underlie these wetlands, while lily pads, cattails (see photo), reeds and bulrushes provide excellent habitat for waterfowl and other small mammals, such as Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Blue Herons, otters and muskrats. As the title implies, wetlands are classified by their geomorphic setting, dominant water source (e.g. 0000333526 00000 n Also like the bogs of the far north, pocosins are found on waterlogged, nutrient poor and acid soils. Bogs receive all or most of their water from precipitation rather than from runoff, groundwater or streams. Wetlands that exist away from oceans obtain their water from ground water and precipitation; wetlands in coastal environments receive precipitation and ground water, but they are also affected by seawater and tides. 0000022046 00000 n Mangrove swamps are a type of shrub swamp dominated by mangroves that covers vast expanses of southern Florida. There are many different kinds of swamps, ranging from the forested Red Maple, (Acer rubrum), swamps of the Northeast to the extensive bottomland hardwood forests found along the sluggish rivers of the Southeast. As a result, they are a haven for species adapted to living in unaltered forests. 0000132170 00000 n The soil is often water logged for much of the year and covered at times by as much as a few feet of water because this type of swamp is found along slow moving streams and in floodplains. As water moves slowly through a marsh, sediment and other pollutants settle to the substrate or floor of the marsh. Like other types of marshes, Salt Marshes and Brackish Marshes both contain primarily herbaceous (non-woody) plant species and can occur on mineral (rocky) or organic (dirt) soils. 0000019528 00000 n Pollution, especially near urban areas, also remains a serious threat to these ecosystems. These natural fires occur because pocosins periodically become very dry in the spring or summer. Pocosins are densely vegetated with trees and shrubs. Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea) are found in southern swamplands. Tidal marshes are normally categorized into two distinct zones, the lower or intertidal marsh and the upper or high marsh. Pocosins provide important habitat for many animals, including some endangered species like the red-cockaded woodpecker. They are mostly freshwater marshes, although some are brackish or alkaline. 0000004733 00000 n

0000040811 00000 n 0000014179 00000 n Carlisle Bog in Alaska. In very dry years they may represent the only shallow water for miles and their presence is critical to the survival of wetland-dependent species like Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa), River Otters (Lutra canadensis) and Cottonmouth Snakes (Agkistrodon piscivorus). This perception led to the vast devastation of immense tracts of swampland over the past 200 years, such as the destruction of more than half of the legendary Great Dismal Swamp of southeastern Virginia. 0000020261 00000 n 0000336414 00000 n Marsh vegetation and microorganisms also use excess nutrients for growth that can otherwise pollute surface water such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer.

In addition to their considerable habitat value, non-tidal marshes serve to mitigate flood damage and filter excess nutrients from surface runoff. Usually, there is no standing water present in pocosins, but a shallow water table leaves the soil saturated for much of the year.They range in size from less than an acre to several thousand acres located between and isolated from old or existing stream systems in most instances. in the Northwest. 0000023182 00000 n 0000262130 00000 n The result is a wetland ecosystem with a very specialized and unique flora and fauna that can grow in these conditions called acidophiles.

Many upland creatures depend on the abundance of food found in the lowland swamps, and valuable timber can be sustainably harvested to provide building materials for people. 0000262874 00000 n

Wetlands can form naturally or through animal or human activity. Bogs are one of North America's most distinctive kinds of wetlands. Therefore, they are able to support a much more diverse plant and animal community. Tidal marshes serve many important functions. 0000333814 00000 n 0000057124 00000 n 0000053338 00000 n The slow movement of water through the dense organic matter in pocosins removes excess nutrients deposited by rainwater. In saline tidal marshes, the lower marsh is normally covered and exposed daily by the tide. 0000010609 00000 n Examples of non-tidal marshes are: Prairie potholes, playa lakes, vernal pools and wet meadows. There are many different kinds of marshes, ranging from the prairie potholes to the Everglades, coastal to inland, freshwater to saltwater. Swamps serve vital roles in flood protection and nutrient removal. Fish and Wildlife Service for the National Wetlands Inventory. 0000332772 00000 n Some types of wetlands include marshes, fens, bogs, riparian wetlands, swamps and estuaries. All types receive most of their water from surface water, and many marshes are also fed by groundwater. Non-tidal marshes are the most prevalent and widely distributed wetlands in North America. Over time, many feet of acidic peat deposits build up in bogs of either origin. %PDF-1.4 %����

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