Portal:Wetlands

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The UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the development of rapid assessment tools to inform people about wetland issues.

Constructed wetlands can be used to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as stormwater runoff and they also play a role in water-sensitive urban design.

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A wet meadow in the San Bernardino Mountains, CA, USA.

Unlike a marshorswamp, a wet meadow does not have standing water present except for brief to moderate periods during the growing season. Instead, the ground in a wet meadow fluctuates between brief periods of inundation and longer periods of saturation. Wet meadows often have large numbers of wetland plant species, which frequently survive as buried seeds during dry periods, and then regenerate after flooding. Wet meadows therefore do not usually support aquatic life such as fish. They typically have a high diversity of plant species, and may attract large numbers of birds, small mammals and insects including butterflies.

Vegetation in a wet meadow usually includes a wide variety of herbaceous species including sedges, rushes, grasses and a wide diversity of other plant species. A few of many possible examples include species of Rhexia, Parnassia, Lobelia, many species of wild orchids (e.g. Calopogon and Spiranthes), and carnivorous plants such as Sarracenia and Drosera. Woody plants if present, account for a minority of the total area cover. High water levels are one of the important factors that prevent invasion by woody plants; in other cases, fire is important. (Full article...)

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General images

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  Image 1Ablack alder swamp in Germany (from Swamp)
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  Image 2Wetlands contrast the hot, arid landscape around Middle Spring, Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Utah. (from Wetland)
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  Image 3Dernford Fen, Cambridgeshire (from Fen)
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  Image 4Difference between swamp and marsh (from Swamp)
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  Image 5Inside a mangrove canopy, Salt Pan Creek, New South Wales (from Swamp)
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  Image 6Many species of frogs live in wetlands, while others visit them each year to lay eggs. (from Wetland)
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  Image 7A bog in Lauhanvuori National Park, Isojoki, Finland (from Bog)
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  Image 8Humid wetland in Pennsylvania before a rain (from Wetland)
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  Image 9Araised boginĶemeri National Park, Jūrmala, Latvia, formed approximately 10,000 years ago in the postglacial period and now a tourist attraction. (from Bog)
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  Image 10Awet meadow adjacent to Big Bear Lake, San Bernardino Mountains, California (from Marsh)
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  Image 11Bog with October morning mist in Mukri, Estonia (from Bog)
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  Image 12Vernal pools are ponded only during the wetter part of the year. (from Marsh)
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  Image 13Spaulding Fen, Wisconsin. (from Fen)
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  Image 14Sphagnum with northern pitcher plantsatBrown's Lake Bog, Ohio, US (from Bog)
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  Image 15Aerial view of prairie potholes (from Marsh)
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  Image 16Marshlands are often noted within wetlands, as seen here in the New Jersey MeadowlandsatLyndhurst, New Jersey, U.S. (from Marsh)
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  Image 17Snapping turtles are one of the many kinds of turtles found in wetlands. (from Wetland)
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  Image 18Viru Bog in Lahemaa National Park, Estonia, which is rich in raised bogs (from Bog)
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  Image 19A salt marsh in Scotland (from Marsh)
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  Image 20Precipitation accumulates in many bogs, forming bog pools, such as Koitjärve bog in Estonia. (from Bog)
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  Image 21A small swamp in Padstow, New South Wales, Australia (from Swamp)
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  Image 22The Sitniki peat bog in Russia recultivated after industrial use (from Bog)
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  Image 23Bud of water lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), an aquatic plant (from Wetland)
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  Image 24Carnivorous plants, such as this Sarracenia purpurea pitcher plant of the eastern seaboard of North America, are often found in bogs. Capturing insects provides nitrogen and phosphorus, which are usually scarce in such conditions. (from Bog)
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  Image 25Sugar Fen, Norfolk (from Fen)
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  Image 26Aerial image of Carbajal Valley peat bogs, Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina (from Bog)
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  Image 27Fog rising over the Mukri bog near Mukri, Estonia. The bog has an area of 2,147 hectares (5,310 acres) and has been protected since 1992. (from Wetland)
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  Image 28Peat bog and peat to dry, L'Isle-aux-Coudres, Quebec, Canada, 1976 (from Bog)
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  Image 29Pantanal in Brazil (from Swamp)
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  Image 30The Linnaistensuo Mire, a nature reserve swamp in Lahti, Finland. (from Swamp)
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  Image 31Swamp in southern Louisiana (from Swamp)
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  Image 32A bog in Ostfriesland (from Bog)
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  Image 33Avaste Fen, Estonia. Sedges dominate the landscape, woody shrubs and trees are sparse. (from Fen)
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  Image 34Marsh Arabs poling a mashoof (from Swamp)
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  Image 35An expanse of wet Sphagnum bog in Frontenac National Park, Quebec, Canada. Spruce trees can be seen on a forested ridge in the background. (from Bog)
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  Image 36Marshlands are often noted within wetlands, as seen here at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife RefugeinNew York City. (from Wetland)
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  Image 37Wicken Fen, England. Grasses in the foreground are typical of a fen. (from Fen)
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  Image 38Marsh in shallow water on a lakeshore (from Marsh)
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  Image 39Bog-wood and boulders at the Stumpy Knowe near South Auchenmade, Ayrshire, Scotland (from Bog)
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  Image 40A marsh in Jyväskylä, Finland (from Marsh)
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  Image 41Sphagnum moss and sedges can produce floating bog mats along the shores of small lakes. This bog in Duck Lake, Oregon, US, supports populations of English sundew (Drosera anglica). (from Bog)
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  Image 42Wetland at the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Massachusetts, United States, in February (from Wetland)
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  Image 43Blanket bog in Connemara, Ireland (from Bog)
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  Image 44Sunrise at Viru Bog, Estonia (from Wetland)
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  Image 45Tourbière du Lac-à-la-Tortue (fr), ombrotrophic, Quebec, Canada (from Bog)
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  Image 46Many kinds of birds nest in marshes; this one is a yellow-headed blackbird. (from Marsh)
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  Image 47Small extreme rich fen in southwestern Minnesota. The white flowers, Parnassia glauca, are a fen indicator species in Minnesota. (from Fen)
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  Image 48White water lilies are a typical marsh plant in European areas of deeper water. (from Marsh)
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  Image 49Kakerdaja Fen, Estonia (from Fen)
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  Image 50Many species of evergreen shrub are found in bogs, such as Labrador tea. (from Bog)
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  Image 51The wetlands of Cape May, New Jersey, US, comprise an extensive hydrological network that makes them an ornithologically important location to study the many birds which use the preserve as a place to nest. (from Wetland)
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  Image 52A freshwater swamp in Florida, United States (from Swamp)

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