Wetlands final exam
Mangrove swamps:
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Peatlands:
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Riparian ecosystems:
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The three-component basis of wetland definition:
see chart 1. geomorphology 2.hydrology (water level, flow fluency, etc) 3. climate 4.physiochemical environment (soil, chemistry, etc) 5. biota (vegetation, animals, microbes) *know direct effects/ biotic feedback
Water budget written as an equation:
see notes
Wetlands water budget steps
see notes
estuarine divided into two subsystems:
subtidal and intertidal
Hydrophytes- floating
water lettuce water hyacinth duck weed
Freshwater marshes:
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Freshwater swamps:
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Hydrograph
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Hydroperiod
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Four goals of the classification:
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Human causes of wetland loss and degradation:
-drainage- particularly for agriculture -dredging and stream channelization -deposition of fill material -diking and damming -levees -tilling for crop production -mining (ex: peat mining, mineral mining) -construction -industrial operations -runoff -air and water pollutants -changing nutrient levels -introducing nonnative species -grazing by domestic animals
Natural causes of wetland loss and degradation:
-erosion -succession -droughts -hurricanes and other storms -climate change
important physical geochemical properties of hydric soils:
-high quantities of organic matter and humus -anaerobic conditions -reduced soils -acidic pH -Texture
Hydrophytes- adaptations
-multiple or buttressed tree trunks/woody vegetation -pneumatophores or knees -adventitious roots -dangling root systems -specialized tissues, such as aerenchyma -floating leaves
water is necessary in soil for:
-plants -chemical reactions -mixing soil particles -decompisition of organic matter -dissolving nutrients
Why are wetlands important?
-the kidneys of the landscape -natures supermarket; -often very productive environment -support extensive diverse food chain -some foods consumed by humans grow in wetlands (like cranberries and rice)
Hydrophytes classes:
-woody (trees and shrubs) -emergent (both above and below water surface) -submergent (below water surface) -floating (at the surface) -phytoplankton (microscopic)
1849-1960 swamp land acts
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1913 migratory bird act
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1916 migratory bird treaty act
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1934 duck stamp act
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1948 federal water pollution control act
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1970 national environmental policy act
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1977 clean water act
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1986 emergency wetlands resources act
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1986 ramsar convention
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1990 U.S. Water resources development act
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Tidal freshwater marshes:
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Tidal salt water marshes:
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aquatic bed, 4 subclasses:
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classes
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dominance types
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emergent, 3 subclasses:
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forested, 7 subclasses
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goals (7)
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palustrine
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restored vs natural wetlands (see chart)
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rock bottom, 2 subclasses:
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scrub-shrub, 7 subclasses
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subclasses
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success considerations
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unconsolidated bottom, 4 subclasses:
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wetland creation
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wetland restoration
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wetland restoration guidelines (see flow chart)
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wetland restoration strategy model (see chart)
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hydrological impacts (4)
1) 2) 3) 4)
hydrological characteristics of a fuctioning wetland:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
properties of soils (6)
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)
wetland indicators-hydric soils
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7? 8)
hydrological functions (4)
1)water storage 2)improve water quality 3)recharge surface and groundwater supplies 4)the unique hydrology of wetlands can support a diversity of animals
Distinguishing characteristics of wetlands:
1. depth and duration of flooding varies considerably from wetland to wetland 2. water levels fluctuate from season to season and year to year, so boudaries cannot be easily determined by identifying the presence of water. 3. wetlands are located at the margins between aquatic and terrestrial systems 4. wetlands species range from those with adaptations to either wet or dry conditions (facultative) or those adapted only to a wet environment (obligate) 5. wetlands vary widely in size, from potholes to large expanses 6. their geographic location can vary greatly, ranging from far inland to coastal and from rural to urban 7. the degree to which they are impacted by human activity is also quite variable
What are wetlands : 1. hydrology 2. biogeochemical role 3. productivity
1. hydrology- intermittently to permanently flooded 2. biogeochemical role- source, sink, or transformer 3. productivity- generally high, but sometimes low to moderate
The lower 48 states contain an estimated _____ acres of wetlands now.
110 million
In 1600s, over _____ acres of wetlands are thought to have existed in the lower 48 states.
220 million
wetlands cover ___ % of the earths land surface
4-6% (500 million sq. km.)
wetland loss in U.S:
53% since pre-settlement times
anaerobic conditions
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field capacity
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hydric soil
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oxidation
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permanent wilting point
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reduction
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Hydrophytes- phytoplankton
Algae
#1 cause of wetland loss in the U.S.:
Drainage for agriculture
Standard definition of wetlands:
Ecosystems that have all 3 of these characteristics: 1. water 2. hydric soils 3. hydrophytes
A general soil profile [see chart] layers
Litter layer-- O (contains organic matter such as leaves) topsoil----- A (mineral soil mixed with some organic matter) zone of accumulation--- B (predominantly mineral soil-combination of parent material and accumulations from upper layers) Parent material--- C (little affected from soil processes; no accumulation of minerals or materials from upper layers) Bedrock---- R (such as sandstone, limestone, granite)
Systems (5)
Marine estuarine riverine lacustrine palustrine
sub-systems
Marine (subtidal and intertidal) estuarine (subtidal and intertidal) riverine lacustrine (limnetic and littoral) palustrine
Five categories in which plant species that appear in wetlands may be placed:
OBL, FACW, FAC, FACU, UPL
Upland (UPL)
Occur almost always (>99%) under natural conditions in non-wetlands
International definition of wetlands:
Ramsar Convention (Navid 1989)- -treaty between many countries -defined wetlands more broadly, have water up to 6m deep.
U.S. Legal definition of wetlands:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (as related to Clean Water Act)- Wetlands are areas inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and under normal circumstances do, a prevalence of vegetation adapted for life in saturated soil conditions
Early U.S. definition of wetlands:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service circular 39 (by Shaw and Fredline 1956)- Lowlands with shallow and sometimes temproary/intermittent water with the development of moist soil vegetation
U.S. Scientific definition:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (in Cowardin et al. 1979)- -lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems or covered by shallow water -characterized by presence of hydric soil, hydrophytes, non-soil substrate saturated or covered by shallow water
facultative upland (FACU)
Usually occur in non-wetlands (67-99%), but occasionally found in wetlands (1-33%)
Hydrophytes- woody
bald cypress mangrove
Water budgets provide a basis for understanding ________ of a wetland.
hydrologic processes
Hydrophytes- emergent
cattail sedge bulrush pennywort alligator weed pickerel weed smartweed
Hydrophytes- submergent
coontail american pondweed hydrilla
The formation, size, persistence, and function of a wetland are all directly controlled by __________. These processes are part of the hydrological cycle.
hyrological processes
The water budget measures what?
measures changes in the volume of water in a wetland over time.
Years of major wetland loss in the U.S.:
mid-1950s to the mid-1970s; rate of loss has decreased since then
soil types
organic mineral
non-tidal wetlands (6)
permanently flooded-? intermittently flooded-? semipermanently flooded-? seasonally flooded-? saturated-? temporarily flooded-?
The basic processes of the hydrological cycle include:
precipitation, surface water flow, groundwater flow, evapotranspiration, tides
wetland indicators
presence of water hydric soils hydrophytes
Tidal wetlands (4)
subtital- permanently flooded w tidal water irregularly exposed- surface exposed by tides less often than daily regularly flooded- flooded and exposed daily irregularly flooded- flooded less often than daily
complete wetland classification
system-> marine, estuarine, riverine, lucustrine, palustrine sub-systems->classes->subclasses->water regime->soil type->water chemistry->dominance types
evapotranspiration
the loss of water to the atmosphere (evaporation) and the loss due to transpiration by plants.
facultative wetland (FACW)
usually occur in wetlands (67-99%), but occasionally found in non-wetlands (1-33%)
Hydrophytes
vegetation adapted to the wet conditions
obligate (OBL)
wetland species adapted only to a wet environment -Occur almost always (>99%) under natural conditions in wetlands
facultative (FAC)
wetland species with adaptations to either wet or dry conditions -equally likely to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands (34-66%)
