Wetland ecosystems
by eric
intro to wetlands
Wetlands are areas covered in water all or part of the year, and are some of the most productive ecosystems on earth. They play an important role improving the quality of our water and providing wildlife habitat. Wetlands are appreciated for their loyalty to the health of Alberta and water quality. The problem here is that people are destroying them for more space, but the wetlands are helping and people are taking them for granted, therefore many animals/plants/insects will die and leading up for humans to also die.
3 common wetlands
the 3 wetlands are named bogs, fens, and marshes. Marshes generally have no trees, and they are instead dominated by tall grasses and cattails, this is because a marsh has much more nutrients than other wetlands. Bogs are a different story, they might have a few trees and has lots of decaying plant matter, and when the plants are there, slowly dying, it causes a bogs surface water to be slightly acidic. fens prevail in the most tree contest out of marshes and bogs, as they may have quite more trees, this is because fens try to absorb all the water that crosses its path, making a clear area for the trees to come and steal some water from underground.
non-living things in wetlands
Dead matter, rocks, snail shells, and nests are all non-living substances that don’t live in a wetland
Plants
Wetlands provide space for a variety of plants. From common ones, such as cattails, all the way to uncommon plants, such as carnivorous sundews. Plants in a wetland have no need to keep themselves standing, because the water keeps them up so they get rid of their strengthening tissue, so If plants found in a wetland are removed from the water, they hang and flop, they have no strengthening tissue because like I said, they have no need. Wetlands also play an important role in cleansing the water. rubbish settles on the bottom in the water, wetland plants gather this rubbish through their roots and store it in their tissues to use the nutrients. Air cavities can extend through the stems of plants, providing an space for air. fly and beetle have had an adaptation which allows them advantage of this. A sharp spike on the end of their abdomen is used to pierce into underwater plants, giving them access to the internal air cavities as their own personal oxygen source.
How can you help?
To protect wetlands we need to stop creating things where wetlands are and start looking at how wetlands help the environment. We need to think that they will economically help us with our problems. If we don’t see them like they’re just a waste of space, then maybe we’ll make some progress. We should look at them much better than we do now, they need to be saved when people destroy it. We need to put our foot down and support the wetlands.
Living spicies need wetlands
Plants in a wetland provide food for a variety of insects. Lots of fishes are raised in a wetland, probably because the plants are a great place to hide. Wetlands are also home to many insects fish eat. Wetlands are used by nearly all amphibians and reptiles, they use wetlands to lay eggs, feed on insects, and to hide from animals that will try to eat them. Migrating birds use wetlands to raise their young and to feed on the insects, fish, and amphibians.
people harm wetlands by
getting rid of wetlands for buildings and roads, drying them up by stopping water flow making the wetlands water be revealed to the sun and stuck there, and finally people littering everywhere and polluting wetlands making the animals die and leave and the wetland soil will start getting bad because its not fertilized and the plants will wither and clog the wetland and people would come and say, "this wetland doesn't do any good" and then they will take it down and build something else, all because you were to lazy to put your garbage where it belongs.