What are they? Where are they?? Why are they important??? Wetlands What are they? Where are they?? Why are they important???

--Areas where water covers the soil all or most of the year Wetlands definition --Areas where water covers the soil all or most of the year

Examples of Wetlands swamps marshes bogs

O.K. So what’s the difference between a swamp, marsh & bog, you ask?

Swamps Swamps are freshwater wetlands with shrubs or trees. Swamps are common throughout eastern North America.

Do you know what these plants are ?????

Marshes A marsh is a wetland with shallow standing water, usually throughout the year, saturated soil, and few or no trees. Marshes form along slow-moving streams and at pond and lake borders.

The cattail is one of the most common marsh plants .

The Everglades of Florida is a 4,000-square-mile freshwater marsh, featuring lush stands of sawgrass up to ten feet tall and supporting immense flocks of wading birds, fish, exotic plants, and, of course, alligators.

Gators are not found here... But….

It looks like this one already ate too many trees!!

Bogs Bogs are wet, spongy areas. Bogs are areas of land that are similar to swamps.

Don’t get “Bogged” down by these facts!! Bogs form where water accumulates and sits. Bogs receive all or most of their water from precipitation rather than from runoff, groundwater or streams. As a result, bogs are low in the nutrients needed for plant growth. Lack of water movement produces low oxygen levels and high acidity, conditions few plants can tolerate. They are primarily inhabited by moss, grass, and shrubs. Bogs serve an important ecological function in preventing downstream flooding by absorbing precipitation. .

Don’t get “Bogged” down by these facts!! Bogs are covered with a layer of floating vegetation which may look like solid ground. However, it is easy to fall through the bog surface into the pit of water below. They can be quite dangerous, as one can easily sink into the bog (up to 2 meters deep!) without warning due to the high water content of the soil. In 1950, a victim who was buried more than 2000 years ago in a Danish bog was found with his clothes and hair intact. As this case makes clear, the process of decay is slowed in bog environments.

Don’t get “Bogged” down by these facts!! A form of moss, especially Sphagnum moss, grows and forms a thick mat of floating plants.Every year, workers drain thousands of acres of bog land. The moss is left to dry in the sun, then it is tilled and pulled out of the bog by giant vacuum machines. It’s bagged and sold as peat moss, which gardeners use to enrich soil. Bogs can be an early stage of a coal deposit.

Don’t get “Bogged” down by these facts!! Farmers use bogs to grow timber, vegetables, and fruits, including the most famous bog product, cranberries. This picture shows a cranberry bog.

Wetlands Now you know about 3 kinds of wetlands Swamps Marshes & Bogs

Wetlands are found on every continent but Antarctica.

Wetlands are important to plants.

Wetlands are important to animals (food, shelter, & water to survive).

Wetlands are very important to humans. Wetlands (freshwater & salt water) are one of the most productive natural sources of food in the world. Most of the seafood we eat begins life in wetlands. F d Of course, millions of jobs are required to provide this food we get from the wetlands.

Wetlands are very important to humans. Peat is obtained, dried out, and used for fertilizer.

Wetlands are very important to humans. Wetlands retain excess water. They allow the water to drain slowly into streams and rivers. By regulating water levels within watersheds, wetlands help prevent flooding.

Wetlands are very important to humans. Their slow drainage system helps clean the water…naturally.

Wetlands Now you know about the different kinds of wetlands and why they are important to plants, animals, and people!