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Wetlands

Wetlands. Wetlands. An ecotone or transitional zone between land and water Shallow water, saturated soil, vegetation adapted to waterlogged conditions. Diversity. Wetlands are most physically and chemically heterogenous of all major aquatic ecosystems No such thing as a “general wetland”.

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Wetlands

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  1. Wetlands

  2. Wetlands • An ecotone or transitional zone between land and water • Shallow water, saturated soil, vegetation adapted to waterlogged conditions

  3. Diversity • Wetlands are most physically and chemically heterogenous of all major aquatic ecosystems • No such thing as a “general wetland”

  4. Wetlands Importance • Nesting, rearing habitat for waterfowl • Feeding, breeding areas for fishes • Nutrient, sediment buffer between land, water • Intrinsic aesthetic value

  5. Rapidly Vanishing • Drained for agriculture • Drained for flood control • Drained to eliminate disease

  6. “Never could a priest describe hell worse than this.” - Linnaeus

  7. Continuing Losses • Few advocates • Misunderstanding of their importance

  8. Types of Wetlands • Seasonal versus permanent • Seasonal dry out most summers • Productivity of seasonal > permanent

  9. Types of Wetlands • Marshes, swamps, bogs, fens • Dominant plants, amount of peat, source of water • Productivity of marshes > swamps > fens > bogs

  10. Protection & Restoration • Why protect a smelly, inaccessible, insect-ridden wetland? • Why create one at the expense of good, productive land?

  11. Protection & Restoration • Functionality - what do they need to do? • How big to be successful? • Partitioning between seasonal, permanent? • Control access? • Emphasis on protecting rare species, or common ones more important in food chain? • Can important catastrophic events (floods) be simulated?

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