Wetlands By: Gus Naughton

What are wetlands? A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water.[2] Wetlands include swamps, 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 in South America.

Facts Wetlands are considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems. Plant life found in wetlands includes mangrove, water lillies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, black spruce, cypress, gum, and many others. Animal life includes different amphibians, reptiles, birds, inssects, and mammals. The UK, Iraq, South Africa, and the US, wetlands discussed frequently for conservation.

Soil Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics.[

Hydrology Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability.

Vegetation Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants.

Bog A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens .

Marsh In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood.

Swamp A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water.

Functions of Wetlands Wetlands store precipitation and surface water. They slowly release it into different water systems, for example, ground water and the atmosphere. They help balance the water level in an area.

Wetlands in Climate Change Wetlands are affected by climate change. They have the ability to sink carbon. Wetlands take only 3% of the world, and degrades 7% of all CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.

Destruction of Wetlands Peatswamp forests and soils are being drained, burnt, mined, and build upon by humans, contributing greatly to climate change.

Conservation/New Zealand 90% of wetlands in New Zealand have been drained, mainly to create new farmland. The remaining wetlands are now being protected by a law.

Conservation/South Africa There is a department in South Africa called the “South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism”. The point of this program is to encourage the protection, rehabilitation, and sustainable use of the wetlands in South Africa. This program will be accomplished using government resources.

Conservation/Sweden The Swedish national wetland inventory (called VMI) is one of the world’s most extensive systematic inventories of nature types that has ever been done. According to a survey of Sweden’s wetlands over a 25-year period, monitoring about 35,000 objects (or sites) take up about 10% of land in Sweden. The point of the survey was to encourage law enforcement to consider drainage permits, and for awareness for the citizens.

Importance of Wetlands Wetlands serve as a home to plants and animals. Wetlands serve as a purification service for water.