WetlandsBy: Gus Naughton

What are wetlands?• A wetland is an area of land whose soil is

saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water.[2] Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. The world's largest wetland is the Pantanal which straddles Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay in South America.

Facts• Wetlands are considered the most biologically

diverse of all ecosystems. Plant life found in wetlands includes mangrove, water lillies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, black spruce, cypress, gum, and many others. Animal life includes different amphibians, reptiles, birds, inssects, and mammals.

• The UK, Iraq, South Africa, and the US, wetlands discussed frequently for conservation.

Soil• Soil is a natural body consisting of layers (

soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics.[

Hydrology• Hydrology is the study of the movement,

distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability.

Vegetation• Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of

a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants.

Bog• A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that

accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens .

Marsh• In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of

wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood.

Swamp• A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of

large areas of land by shallow bodies of water.

Functions of Wetlands• Wetlands store precipitation and surface water.

They slowly release it into different water systems, for example, ground water and the atmosphere. They help balance the water level in an area.

Wetlands in Climate Change

• Wetlands are affected by climate change. They have the ability to sink carbon. Wetlands take only 3% of the world, and degrades 7% of all CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.

Destruction of Wetlands

• Peatswamp forests and soils are being drained, burnt, mined, and build upon by humans, contributing greatly to climate change.

Conservation/New Zealand

• 90% of wetlands in New Zealand have been drained, mainly to create new farmland. The remaining wetlands are now being protected by a law.

Conservation/South Africa

• There is a law in South Africa that protects their wetlands. The law it’s under is the Resource Management Act.

Conservation/South Africa

• In Sweden, there is the most extensive inventory in the world (VMI). VMI has studied the wetlands in Sweden for a period of 25 years. Over 35,000 objects were studied. The area studied was 10% of Sweden. They also investigated the area for human activities. This was used as information to the authorities to prevent draining of the wiki.

Conservation/United States

• The USA did tests to understand how