Wetlands
By Hannah Saunders
Types of Wetlands
Marshes, mudflats, ponds, lakes, and floodplains are all wetlands. Shallow seas, mangroves, and even coral reefs are wetlands too. In Canada there are fens, bogs, swamps, peat lands and shallow waters.
Fens
Fens are wetland formed when glacier retreat ( glaciers make many changes in landscape). Mostly Grasses and Sedges grow in fens giving them the appearance of a meadows with streams running through. Most of their water comes from the ground. There is peat deposits in them like bogs. Unlike bogs their soil is rich in nutrients. Mosquitoes, horse flies, amphibians like frogs salamanders, insect eating birds, shrews, voles and muskrats are found in fens.
Bogs
Something that sets a bog apart from other wetlands is their acidic soil/low nutrients and low oxygen levels in the water. There is lots of moss that absorbs water making it very spongy. Unlike fens and marshes a bogs water comes solely from weather and that water stays there instead of flowing out. There climate makes it hard for things to decompose, Therefore stuff can be preserved there for long periods of time. There are not many fish but mousse, newts and dragonflies are common.
Marshes
In marshes there are no trees only grasses and soft stemmed plants, it's the plants that slow the water down and expand the marsh. They are found along lakes and rivers. Some marshes are pond like others are like flooded clearings. They have soil wet very rich in nutrients. A marshes water comes from the ground or surface.
Defanition of a Wetland
Wetlands are in every climate in the world. In fact they are everywhere in the world except Antarctica.
Is It All Alive
In or Out of The Water
The water is a very important part of a wetland (hence the name wet-land). All the animals and plants depend on it some live in the water some live out of it. Moose, Coyotes, Red Wing Blackbirds, Loons, Canadian Geese, Mosquitoes and Horse Flys all live on land but still need the water to live. Fish, Frogs, Lily pads, Cattails, Newts and Salamanders live in the water.
How Do They Adapet
Plants in bogs have adapted to live in the acidic and low oxygen soil. The animals have adapted differently with changes, like changing their coloring or eating
different things.
What Are We Doing To Them
People build on wetlands all the time, it allows more buildings or houses then if we build around them. Now the government has made rules so people can’t build on top of some wetlands. To stop people from walking through them and damaging plants they have become national parks
Associations like ducks unlimited create websites and give presentations to teach kid about wetlands or certain plants and animals. Teaching people about wetlands brings awareness to what we are doing to these amazing places!