| Wetlands are areas of land that are wet at least part of the year. They are populated by plants well adapted to grow in standing water or saturated soils. There are both freshwater wetlands and saltwater wetlands. There are many different types of wetlands, including marshes, bogs, fends, cypress swamps, hardwood swamps, mangrove swamps, hydric hammocks, prairie potholes, wet meadows, and bottomland hardwood forests. Wetlands may not always appear to be wet. Many dry out for extended periods of time. Others may appear dry on the surface but are saturated underneath.
According to the Clean Water Act, the term wetlands means "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas."
Wetlands help improve our water quality:
Wetlands play a very important role in helping to keep our environment clean and healthy. They are natural cleaning systems. They help purify and filter water that passes through them. Wetlands help to purify and filter pollutants from agricultural activities and from water that drains or flows off the surface of the land. The plants in a wetland help clean water by trapping solids and absorbing them in their roots. The bacteria and other microorganisms help improve the quality of water by eating and digesting organic wastes.
Wetlands help protect us from floods:
Wetlands act as giant sponges. They can absorb heavy rainfall and release the water very slowly so helping to prevent flooding. Wetlands located along the coast serve as natural barriers that can reduce damage from storm surges.
Wetlands help store water:
Wetlands are important storage areas that collect rainwater. Some of the water soaks into the ground to refill the aquifers. While some is gradually released either back to the atmosphere or to other surface bodies of water.
Wetlands help support a variety of fish, waterfowl and other wildlife:
Wetlands are habitat for many animals and birds that cannot nest, breed or live anywhere else. Did you know that twenty-two species of wading birds depend on Florida’s wetlands? It is also a fact that nearly two-thirds of our marine fish and shellfish rely on wetlands for their survival. The white-tailed deer, bobcats, gray foxes, black bears, panthers and other large mammals use the wetlands for their habitat. Other animals that can be observed in wetland include raccoons, skunks and river otters.
Wetlands help serve as nursery areas:
Wetlands are nursery areas that provide food and shelter for a wide variety of fish, birds, reptiles and mammals. Nutrients deposited in the wetlands are the building blocks in the food chain that are part of the complex network of feeding relationships in an environment.
Wetlands help stabilize our coastal shorelines:
Wetlands located along the coast provide a barrier and buffer zone between salt water and fresh water. These brackish water areas that are filled with vegetation help prevent coastal erosion. Plants help control shoreline erosion by trapping and stabilizing sediments through their roots.
Wetlands help provide recreational activities:
Many recreational activities take place in and around wetlands. People use the wetlands for outdoor experiences, such as hiking, fishing, boating, bird watching and photography.
Wetlands help support a variety of fish, waterfowl and other wildlife:
Wetlands provide habitat that is crucial for the survival of nearly one-third of the plants and animal species included on a federal list of endangered species. Endangered species that depend on Florida’s wetlands to survive include the wood stork, black bear, limpkins, sandhill crane, southern bald eagle, osprey, little blue heron, orchid and pleat-leaf.
Summary:
Wetlands protect us all in many ways -- they filter pollutants from our drinking water, protect our homes by storing floodwater, and provide homes for fish, shellfish, and wildlife. Wetlands are crucial for clean water, serving as a natural filter absorbing water-borne pollutants and damaging contaminants before the water enters our rivers, lakes, and streams.
Despite the fact that wetlands are of unique value to our society, a 1997 survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that roughly 58,500 acres of wetlands are being destroyed annually.
What’s a Wetland Worth? from the Sierra Club
What are Wetlands? from the EPA’s website
How a Wetland Works? from the St. Petersburg Times, a multimedia presentation showing the cycle a wetland goes through. Also includes a multimedia presentation about "The Loss of Life Cycles", showing how a disruption in the wetlands has a domino effect on plant and animal life cycles.
Give Water a Hand is a national watershed education program designed to involve young people in local environmental service projects. (free download)
Educating Young People About Water
Educating Young People About Water has over 150 curricula listed in the database. Curriculum have been reviewed for nine major water topics and 37 subtopics, searchable by grade level or topic to create a tailored water education opportunity. (free/some with minimal costs)
Where Rivers Are Born: The Scientific Imperative for Defending Small Streams and Wetlands The Sierra Club and American Rivers asked eleven scientists to summarize the services wetlands and small streams provide society and the consequences of degrading these waters. This report is the document produced by those scientists.
Functions and Values of Wetlands from the EPA’s website
Protecting Our Resources from the EPA’s website |
