Wetlands

A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile

Types of Wetlands

• bog or moor or muskeg (peatlands}
• marsh or fen
• swamp
• bayou or slough

Functions of wetlands

By absorbing the force of strong winds and tides, wetlands protect terrestrial areas adjoining them from storms, floods, and tidal damage. Fresh water marshes are often on river floodplains.

A temperate wetland in Great Britain, with shallow open water and reedbeds

Wetlands are often filled in to be used for everything from agriculture to parking lots, in part because the economic value of wetlands has only been recognised recently: the shrimp and fish that breed in salt water marshes are generally harvested in deeper water, for example. Wetlands support a wide variety of wildlife (bird, plants, fish, mammals etc) and therefore the conservation of wetlands is of prime importance for the preservation of many species of wildlife. In 1962, the idea of wetlands conservation was born with a "List of Wetlands of International Importance". This was followed up in 1971 by the Ramsar Convention when conservationists from 23 countries met in the city of Ramsar, Iran on the shores of the Caspian Sea. There are now over 1,200 wetlands on the Ramsar List.

See also: United Nations Convention signatories, Wetlands International, The Broads National Park, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Somerset Levels

References

• Mitsch, William J, and Jamnes G. Gosselink. (1986). Wetlands. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. 539 p.

Referenced By