HPU NCS2200 Earth science for elementary education majors summer 2014 online class wetlands lecture

1. Wetlands

2. 11.9 Wetlands
► Areas that are:
 Wet part of the time
 Anaerobic soils
 Plants adapted to periodic flooding
► Types of Wetlands
 Swamps
 Bogs
 Marshes
 Sloughs
 Mudflats
 Flood plains
 Tundra

3. Wetland Defined
►A wetland is any area that is inundated
(flooded) or saturated for a certain
number of days in a row that add up to
7.5% of the growing season in an area.
►Contains:
 Water
 Hydrophyllic (water loving) plants
 Hydric (saturated) soils with low oxygen
content

4. Importance of Wetlands
►Wildlife Habitat
►Flood control
►Sediment filters and erosion control
►Water quality
►Water supply
►Recreation

5. Types of Wetlands
►Marshes
 Tidal
►Salt Water Marsh
 Non-tidal
►Vernal Pools
► Fresh Water Marsh
 Swamps
► Forested
 Bogs
►Pocosin
 Fen

6. Tidal Salt Water Marsh
► Coastal wetland
► Inundated with salt
water as tides change
► Salt tolerant plants
 Cordgrass
 Switchgrass
 Glasswort/saltwort

7. Vernal Pool
► seasonal (yearly) marshes
that occur in depressions
of land
► covered with ice and water
from winter to spring
► dry during the summer
and fall. all.
► bottom of the pools are
made of bedrock or hard
clay which keeps the water
from leaking out.
► Creatures may include the
spring peeper, eastern
spotted newt, green frog,
spotted salamanders

8. Fresh water marsh
► A shallow wetland
with few trees and
standing water for
most of the year
► Not Tidal
► Flocks of wading
birds, fish, exotic
plants, alligators, and
numerous
invertabrates

9. Forested Swamp
► Dominated by trees with
few shrubs
► water inflow through
streams, rivers, and run-
off.
► Trees have shallow root
systems to gain exposure
to oxygen.
► Common trees include red
maple, bald cypress, sweet
gum and American elm.
► Wood ducks, gray treefrog,
wood frogs, barred owls
and pileated woodpeckers
live in the forested swamp

10. Pocosin
► Extremely flat with poor
natural drainage
► Thick layers of peat –
decomposed organic
material
► Shrub vegetation is
common, pond pines,
loblolly and longleaf
pines are also present.
► Fire adapted

11. Southern Appalachian Bog
► Fed primarily by
rainwater
► Acidic
► Vegetation varies from
mosses and grasses to
trees depending on
elevation

12. Southern Fen
► Fed by surface and/or
groundwater
► Water is alkaline
(basic)
► Usually inhabited by
mosses and grasses
► Can be a stage in
succession from lake
to woodland

13. Wetland Destruction
►Human Actions have reduced wetlands to
less than half of their land area
 Draining for agriculture
 Draining for housing/urban development
 Draining for mosquito prevention
 Pollution due to dumping and runoff

14. Wetland Protection
► Clean Water Act
 Protects wetlands by preventing dredge and fill
operations in nations waters including wetlands
 Protected under water quality clauses of clean Water
Act
 National pollutant discharge elimination
► Executive Order 11990
 No Net Loss – protects wetlands by requiring restoration
or mitigation of wetlands lost by development.