Transcript Wetland Types

Wetland Types – Inland Wetland
Ecosystems
Wetland Types
• Inland Wetland Ecosystems
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Freshwater Marshes
Peatlands
Freshwater Swamps (Forested)
Riparian Wetlands
Open Water
• Coastal Wetland Ecosystems
– Tidal Salt Marshes
– Tidal Freshwater Marshes
– Mangrove Wetlands
Kinds of Wetlands
Vary based on geographic location, language, etc.
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Bog – peat-accumulating with no
inflows or outflows; supports
mosses
Bottomland – lowlands along
streams and rivers
Fen – ground-water fed; peat
accumulating
Marsh – frequently inundated;
emergent herbaceous vegetation
Mire – peat-accumulating
(Europe)
Moor – peat-accumulating
(Europe)
Muskeg – Large expanses of
peatlands or bogs
(Canada/Alaska)
Peatland – any wetland that
accumulates decaying plant
matter
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Playa – marshlike ponds similar to
potholes (southwest U.S.)
Pothole – shallow, marshlike
pond; found in Dakotas and
Canada
Reedswamp – marsh dominated
by common reed (Europe)
Slough – swamp or shallow lake
system
Swamp – wetland dominated by
trees or shrubs
Vernal Pool – shallow,
intermittently flooded wet meadow
Wet Meadow – grassland with
waterlogged soil near the surface
– without water for most of year
Wet Prairie – similar to marsh but
water levels intermediate between
marsh and wet meadow
Inland Wetland Ecosystems
•Freshwater Marshes
•Peatlands
•Freshwater Swamps
(Forested)
•Riparian Wetlands
•Open Water
Freshwater Marshes
• Very diverse group
• Nontidal, freshwater systems
• Dominated by grasses, sedges, and other
freshwater emergent hydrophytes
(nonforested)
• High productivity
• Approximately 20% of world’s wetlands
Hydrology
• Predominately surface water fed; some with
groundwater
• Deep marsh plant communities have standing
water depths of between 6 inches and 3 or more
feet during the growing season
• Shallow marsh plant communities have soils
that are saturated to inundated by standing
water up to 6 inches in depth, throughout most
of the growing season
Dominant Plant Species
• Deep marsh: major dominance by
cattails, hardstem bulrush, pickerelweed,
giant bur-reed, Phragmites, wild rice,
pondweeds and/or water-lilies.
• Shallow marsh: herbaceous emergent
vegetation such as cattails, bulrushes,
arrowheads, and lake sedges characterize
this community.
Wet Meadows
Hydrology and Soils
• Supported by groundwater and surface
water runoff
– Usually a high water table is present
• Typically drier than other marshes except
during seasonal high water
– Without standing water most of the year
• Occur in poorly drained soils
– Soils typically nutrient rich
Dominant Plant Species
• hummock sedge (Carex stricta)
• lake sedge (Carex lacustris)
• Canada bluejoint grass (Calamagrostis
canadensis)
• woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus)
• marsh milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• arrow-leaved tearthumb (Polygonum sagittatum)
• water pepper (Polygonum hydropiper)
Sedge Meadows
Hydrology
• Sedge meadows can be supported by
groundwater and surface water runoff
Dominant Plant Species
• Sedge meadows are dominated by the
sedges (Cyperaceae) growing on
saturated soils (Carex dominates)
• Also present are Eleocharis (spike-rushes)
and Scirpus (bulrushes)
hummock sedge (Carex stricta), Chippewa County, Wisconsin.
Wet Prairie
Hydrology
• High groundwater table and, to a lesser
extent, surface runoff
Dominant Plant Species
• open, herbaceous plant communities dominated
by native grass and grass-like species; at least
half of the vegetative cover is made up of true
grasses
• similar to fresh (wet) meadows, but are
dominated by native grasses and forbs
associated with prairies such as prairie cordgrass, big bluestem, gayfeather, New England
aster, culver's root, prairie dock and sawtooth
sunflower
Prairie Potholes
•Depressional Wetlands formed by glaciers
•Located in Upper Midwest
•North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota
Hydrology
• Water source is from primarily snowmelt
and rainwater
• Many hold water temporarily
Dominant Plant Species
• Submerged and floating aquatic plants
take occur in the deeper water in the
middle of the pothole while bulrushes and
cattails grow closer to shore.
• Sedge marshes lie next to the upland.
Photo: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/pothole.html
Vernal Pools
•Seasonal depressional wetlands (ephemeral)
•Occur predominately in West Coast but Eastern
vernal pools also occur
•Range in size from small puddles to shallow
lakes and are usually found in a gently sloping
plain of grassland
Hydrology
• Pools collect water during winter and spring
rains
– Change in volume responding to varying weather
patterns
– Pools may fill and dry several times
– In years of drought, some pools may not fill at all
• Generally isolated but are sometimes connected
to each other by small drainages known as
vernal swales
• Beneath vernal pools lies either bedrock or a
hard clay layer in the soil that helps keep water
in the pool
Vegetation
• Wildflowers bloom in circles following the
receding shoreline of the pools
• When water has evaporated, soil is brown,
barren, and cracked
Photo: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/vernal.html
Playa Lakes
• Ephemeral, round hollows in Southern
High Plains of the United States
– West Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico,
Colorado, and Kansas
Hydrology
• Playa origin:
– either carved by wind or formed by land
subsidence.
• Freshwater collects in the round
depression after spring rains
• Saltwater-filled playas
– Underlying aquifers bring salt as it percolates
up through the soil.
Vegetation
• Grow and flourish when water is present
– Recede and die when water evaporates
• Wildlife depend on water and plants after
spring rains
Photo: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/types/playa.html
Peatlands
Fens
Hydrology
• Upwelling, calcareous groundwater
discharge
• Small, calcareous streams frequently
originate in the fen complex due to the
groundwater discharge
Dominant Plant Species
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sterile sedge (Carex sterilis)
beaked spike-rush (Eleocharis rostellata)
fen beak-rush (Rhynchospora capillacea)
whorled nut-rush (Scleria verticillata)
common valerian (Valeriana edulis) twigrush (Cladium mariscoides)
• white lady-slipper (Cypripedium candidum)
Bogs
Hydrology
• Ground water sourced with peaty soils
saturated to the surface
Dominant Plant Species
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sphagnum mosses (Sphagnum spp.)
bog sedge (Carex oligosperma)
tawny cottongrass (Eriophorum virginicum)
three-way sedge (Dulichium arundinaceum)
leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)
bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla)
bog buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)
poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix)
broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia)
Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada.
Pitcher plant
Freshwater Swamps
•Cypress-tupelo Swamps
•Southeastern U.S.
•White Cedar Swamps
•Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
•Red Maple Swamps
•Northeastern U.S.
Hydrology
• Groundwater discharge (seepages),
rainwater, overland flow, floodwater
Dominant Plant Species – Midwest
• black ash (Fraxinus nigra), red maple (Acer
rubrum), formerly American Elm
• groundlayer dominated by
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lake sedge (Carex lacustris),
ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and
marsh marigold (Caltha palustris)
wood reedgrass (Cinna latifolia)
jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)
jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)
Riparian Wetlands
Hydrology
• Seasonal flood pulses
• Inundated during spring flood events and
heavy summer rainfall events
Dominant Plant Species
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silver maple (Acer saccharinum)
wood nettle (Laportea canadensis)
honewort (Cryptotaenia canadensis)
green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica),
eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides),
riverbank grape (Vitis riparia),
jewelweed (Impatiens capensis),
stinging nettle (Urtica dioica),
Shallow Open Water
Hydrology
• Generally have water depths of less than
6.6 feet (2 meters)
• Ponds, river oxbows, shallow bay of a lake
Dominant Plant Species
• Submergent, floating and floating-leaved
aquatic vegetation including pondweeds,
water-lilies, water milfoil, coontail, and
duckweeds characterize this wetland type.