Portal:Wetlands

1310

Wetlands Portal

Introduction

A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica, the largest including the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, and the Pantanal in South America. The water found in wetlands can be freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens; and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, and varzea.

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.

Selected article

A Wet Woodland in Firebeacon, Devon
A Wet Woodland in Firebeacon, Devon
Wet woodland is a biodiversity habitat in the United Kingdom.

This is a woodland that occurs on poorly drained or seasonally wet soils. They are typical of river valley, the surroundings of mires and raised bog, the transition zones between open water and drier ground, and beside small winding streams. Alder, birches and willows are the characteristic trees found in this type of habitat, as they are able to extract oxygen from the water saturated habitat. The UK contains between 50–70,000 hectares (120–172,970 acres).

Wet woodland supports many types of species. E.g. the humidity favours bryophytes (mosses). Alder, birch and willows support many invertebrates: the beetles Melanopion minimum and Rhynchaenus testaceus, the craneflies Lipsothrix errans, Lipsothrix nervosa, and mammals such as otters.

In the UK Woodland Maintenance and Restoration grants are available to protect this type of Woodland under Natural England's Environmental Stewardship Scheme.

Within the British National Vegetation Classification seven types of Wet Woodland are recognised as part of the Woodland and scrub communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system. (Full article...)

General images

The following are images from various wetland-related articles on Wikipedia.

Law

Selected picture

Did you know...

that dambos are often used for growing rice?
... that dambos are often used for growing rice?

(Pictured left: Rice field near Morondava.)

Other "Did you know" facts... Read more...

Categories

Organizations

Topics

Pen & Earth
Pen & Earth

Things you can do

  • Create articles: There are many articles that have yet to be started... Pick your favorite and start researching!
  • Find photos for articles: Many wetlands–related articles would be substantially better with the addition of one or more photographs. Feel free to take your own and upload them, or find ones with the appropriate licenses and upload them here!
  • Categorize articles: Figure out what categories to add to each article so that others can find them more easily.
  • Expand articles: There are many wetland stubs which could use extensive updates and development.
  • Find sources: Many of our articles are poorly sourced and could use much better citations.
  • Wikify: Add {{Portal|Wetlands}} to the See also sections of Wetlands-related articles.

WikiProjects

Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals