institute of water supply and environmental protection cracow university of technology
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Institute of Water Supply and Environmental ProtectionCracow University of TechnologyKrakow, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Poland
curriculum in natural environmental science, vol. 2, 2010NEAR
Freshwater (inland) wetlands
Ewa Szalinska
Krakow University of Technology, Krakow, Poland
Outline:
• What are wetlands?• Wetland classification• Types of inland wetlands• Wetlands: inland vs. coastal• Why we need inland wetlands
• Case study: St. Clair wetlands
What are wetlands?
“Areas of march, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or
temporary, with water that is static of flowing, fresh, backish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not
exceed six meters”
Convention on Wetlands, Ramsar, Iran 1971
Source: http://www.ramsar.org
Wetland classification
• Horizontal– marsh, swamp, bog, fen, etc
• Hierarchical– hydrology – i.e. tidal and non-tidal, water permanence,
directional flow of water– water chemistry – salinity, halinity, pH– vegetation – wet meadow, marsh, wooded swamp, shrub
swamp– origin – natural, man-made– soil type, landform, size, etc.
Source: Tiner 1999
Inland wetland types:• Marshes - herbaceous vegetation; open to sun; water level -
centimeters to 1 meter; can periodically dry out;
Source: http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands; Photos: E. Szalinska
Point Peele, ON, Canada Algonquin Park, ON, Canada Algonquin Park, ON, Canada
• Swamps – shady, woody plants, saturated soils or standing water;
• Bogs - acidic water, spongy peat deposits, covered by a layer of sphagnum moss; receive water mostly from precipitation;
• Fens - peat-forming wetlands, receiving nutrients from sources other than precipitation;
Wheatley Park, ON, Canada
Wetlands: inland vs. coastal
• Flood pattern – twice a day (coastal)/no changes - or seasonal (inland);
• Succession – autogenic and allogenic (inland) / mangrove expansion (coastal)
• Timescale – rapid changes (inland)/rarely static for significant period of time (coastal)
• Climate changes – water level, temperature (inland/coastal), precipitation (inland)
After: Dugan (ed.) 1993
Why we need inland wetlands?
• Water storage – flood protection• Water filtration – improving water quality• Habitat for fish, wildlife and plants • Economic benefits – fishing, harvesting
wetland-dependent species, peat • Recreation, education, research
After: Dugan (ed.) 1993
Case study:
St. Clair wetlands
Source: http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/EFS/printinfo.pl?PHOTO=STS068-232-22
The Great Lakes (North America)
Source: http://mschaut.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/great_lakes.jpg
Huron-Erie Corridor
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_st_clair_landsat.jpeg
Huron-Erie Corridor
Source: http://gis.glin.net/maps/
Lake St. Clair:
- area - 1,115 km2
- average depth - 3.7 m
- max depth - 8.3 m
- average retention time - 9 days
N
N
KILOMETERS
KILOMETERS
0 20 40 60
0 2 4 6
Lake Huron
Lake Erie
Lake St. Clair
OntarioMichigan
Windsor
Detroit
Port Huron
82o35’ 82o25’
82o25’
42o40’
42o35’42o35’
42o30’U.S.
CANADA
St. C
lair
Riv
er
NorthChannel
Mid
dle
Goo
se B
ay
Muscamoot Bay
Sout
h Cha
nnel
ChenalEcarte
Channel
John
ston
Goose Lake
WALPOLE ISLAND
HARSENS ISLAND
DICKINSON ISLAND
STE. ANNE ISLAND
SQUIRREL ISLAND
BASSET ISLAND
Modern Delta Lake St. ClairPre-modern Delta
Basset
Ch
ann
elN
N
KILOMETERS
KILOMETERS
0 20 40 60
0 2 4 6
Lake Huron
Lake Erie
Lake St. Clair
OntarioMichigan
Windsor
Detroit
Port Huron
82o35’ 82o25’
82o25’
42o40’
42o35’42o35’
42o30’U.S.
CANADA
St. C
lair
Riv
er
NorthChannel
Mid
dle
Goo
se B
ay
Muscamoot Bay
Sout
h Cha
nnel
ChenalEcarte
Channel
John
ston
Goose Lake
WALPOLE ISLAND
HARSENS ISLAND
DICKINSON ISLAND
STE. ANNE ISLAND
SQUIRREL ISLAND
BASSET ISLAND
Modern Delta Lake St. ClairPre-modern Delta
Basset
Ch
ann
elNN
NN
KILOMETERS
KILOMETERS
0 20 40 60
0 2 4 6
Lake Huron
Lake Erie
Lake St. Clair
OntarioMichigan
Windsor
Detroit
Port Huron
82o35’ 82o25’
82o25’
42o40’
42o35’42o35’
42o30’U.S.
CANADA
St. C
lair
Riv
er
NorthChannel
Mid
dle
Goo
se B
ay
Muscamoot Bay
Sout
h Cha
nnel
ChenalEcarte
Channel
John
ston
Goose Lake
WALPOLE ISLAND
HARSENS ISLAND
DICKINSON ISLAND
STE. ANNE ISLAND
SQUIRREL ISLAND
BASSET ISLAND
Modern Delta Lake St. ClairPre-modern Delta
Basset
Ch
ann
el
Source: Thomas et al. 2006
St. Clair Delta formation:
- pre-modern delta – 3,500-5,000 yrs. BC
- modern delta – 3,500 yrs. BC until present
- 7 active channels – average 11 m depth
- “burrowing” delta formation
- area – 80 km2 (36 km2 freshly emergent wetlands)
Source: http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/QuickView.pl?directory=ISD&ID=ISS002-377-26
Changes in the land use pattern:
- until 1800 – mostly swamps
- intense draining and development after 1850 (loss of 5,250 ha of wetlands)
- currently: agriculture and residential use
Remaining wetlands:
- Chatham Flats (St. Clair National Wildlife Area)
- St. Clair Delta (Walpole Island and St. Clair Flats)
Chatham Flats
Walpole Island
St. Clair Flats
Source: http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/huntingwildlifehabitat/sga/stclairflats.pdf
Ramsar site: 4CA016
St. Clair National Wildlife Area
St. Clair wetland habitat and biodiversity
• Breeding habitat for wetland birds;• Habitat for more than 65 species of fish;• Numerous amphibian, reptile, and mammal species;• Vast array of plant species
King rail (Rallus elegens)
Photos: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Digital Library System, http://images.fws.gov
Rattle snake (Sisustrus catenatus)
Spiny softshell (Apalone spinifera)
Least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)
Yellow lotus (Nelumbo lutea)
St. Clair wetland wildlife habitat
Photos: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://www.birds.cornell.edu/
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria )
Redhead (Aythya americana )
Northern shoveler (Anas clypeata )
Canada goose
(Branta canadiensis)
Stressors to the St. Clair wetland ecosystem
• Lake processes: long- and short-term water level fluctuations, waves, wind tides, ice scour;
• Direct wetland loss and degradation;• Invasive plant and animal species;
Mute swan (Cugnus olor)Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Source: http://www.glc.org/stclair/
Lake St. Clair annual water levels 1918-1990
Photos: http://www.great-lakes.net/envt/flora-fauna/invasive
Stressors to the St. Clair Delta wetland ecosystem
• Risk of chemical and fuel spills
Source: http://www.glc.org/stclair/
0 10
Kilometers
20
3 3
3
3
3
3 3
3
3 3
3 3 3 3
3 3 3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Hg
> SEL (2.0 mg g-1 dw)
between SEL and LEL
< LEL (0.2 mg g-1 dw)
Source: Szalinska et al., 2007
Stressors to the St. Clair Delta wetland ecosystem
Lake St. Claire
Chenal Ecarte
Joh
nst
on
Ch
ann
el
Goose Lake
Basset C
hannel
Ch
emat
og
anC
han
nel
St.
Cla
ir R
iverMe – LEL exceeded for metal
Hg Cd, Fe, Hg
Hg
Cd, Fe, Hg
Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni
Cd, Cu, Hg
Hg
Hg
HgCd, Hg
Cd, Hg
Lake St. Claire
Chenal Ecarte
Joh
nst
on
Ch
ann
el
Goose Lake
Basset C
hannel
Ch
emat
og
anC
han
nel
St.
Cla
ir R
iverMe – LEL exceeded for metal
Hg Cd, Fe, Hg
Hg
Cd, Fe, Hg
Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Ni
Cd, Cu, Hg
Hg
Hg
HgCd, Hg
Cd, Hg
Lake St. Claire
Chenal Ecarte
Joh
nst
on
Ch
ann
el
Goose Lake
Basset C
hannel
Ch
emat
og
anC
han
nel
St.
Cla
ir R
iverLEL exceeded for HCB
LEL exceeded for pp’-DDT
Lake St. Claire
Chenal Ecarte
Joh
nst
on
Ch
ann
el
Goose Lake
Basset C
hannel
Ch
emat
og
anC
han
nel
St.
Cla
ir R
iverLEL exceeded for HCB
LEL exceeded for pp’-DDT
Lake St. Claire
Chenal Ecarte
Joh
nst
on
Ch
ann
el
Goose Lake
Basset C
hannel
Ch
emat
og
anC
han
nel
St.
Cla
ir R
iverLEL exceeded for HCB
LEL exceeded for pp’-DDT
LEL exceeded for HCB
LEL exceeded for pp’-DDT
Source: GLIER 2005
References• Dugan (ed.) 1993. Wetlands in danger. A world conservation atlas. Oxford
University Press. • GLIER 2005. Benthos and chemistry studies on the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers.
Report Prepared by the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research & Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor for the Great Lakes Sustainability Fund, Windsor, Canada.
• Thomas et al. 2006. Formation of the St. Clair River Delta in the Laurentian Great Lakes system. J. Great Lakes Res. 32:738-748.
• Tiner 1999. Wetland indicators. A guide to wetland identification, delineation, classification and mapping. Lewis Publishers.
• Szalinska et al. 2007. Metals in the sediments of the Huron-Erie Corridor (North America): factors regulating distribution and mobilization. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management, 12:217-236.
• USACE 2005. St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair Comprehensive Management Plan, June 2004. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District
• http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov, Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center, "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth"
• http://www.birds.cornell.edu/, Cornell Lab of Ornithology• http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetland• http://images.fws.gov, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Digital Library System• http://www.ramsar.org
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