Wetlands

According to the EPA..
"Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Water saturation largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communitites living in and on the soil. Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants and promote the development of characteristic wetlands soils."

* Marshes include: tidal and nontidal (covered later)
* Wet Meadows inlude : Prairie Potholes + Vernal Pools + Playa Lakes
* Swamps include: Forested Swamps + Bottomland Hardwoods + Shrub Swamps +Mangrove Swamps ( covered later)
* Bogs include: Northern bogs + Pocosins ( southern bogs) + Fens

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Swamps

A swamp is any wetland dominated by woody plants. There are many different kinds of swamps, ranging from the forested red maple, (Acer rubrum), swamps of the Northeast, to the extensive bottomland hardwood forests found along the sluggish rivers of the Southeast.

Swamps are characterized by saturated soils during the growing season, and standing water during certain times of the year. The highly organic soils of swamps form a thick, black, nutrient-rich environment for the growth of water-tolerant trees such as cypress (Taxodium spp.), Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), and tupelo (Nyssa aquatica).Some swamps are dominated by shrubs, such as buttonbush or smooth alder.

Birds, fish, and invertebrates such as freshwater shrimp, crayfish, and clams require the habitats provided by swamps. Many rare species, such as the endangered American crocodile depend on these ecosystems as well.
Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) sprouts very early in the spring, melting the surrounding snow. The insects that pollinate it are attracted by its odor, which resembles decaying flesh.

Origin and Development
Swamps develop in depressions where there is poor drainage and/or the water table is high. Despite the water trapped in these areas, they are colonized by trees. These forested wetlands develop in still or slowing flowing water around lake margins, along floodplains, and by oxbow lakes.
Poorly drained depressions and areas subject to periodic flooding have mucky soils that are too wet for surrounding forest species but are ideal for swamp plants.

Swamps may evolve from sedge and cattail marshes as water levels decrease due to organic matter accumulation, sedimentation or lowering of the water table. As water levels decrease, red maples and other swamp species become established and as they grow, they shade out light demanding marsh plants. Marsh animals such as ducks and muskrats leave the area and are replaced by swamp species.

Swamps may develop on the surface of old fens and bogs (peatlands), after terrestrialization is complete. In fact conifer swamps are often mistaken for bogs. As a bog develops, the open water area may eventually be covered with a vegetative mat and trees can become well established. However, the presence of moss and wet, spongy ground distinguishes a bog from a swamp. A conifer swamp is established with the same trees as a bog, but there is no moss and the area is flooded for a part of the year with water from rivers, lakes, spring runoff or groundwater.

Vegetation and Wildlife
The vegetation in swamps is predominately dense coniferous or deciduous forest or tall shrub thickets. The trees which inhabit a swamp are dependent upon climatic conditions.

Northern boreal swamps are usually dominated by white and black spruce but more nutrient-rich sites have cedars.
As one progresses south, red or silver maple, ash and yellow birch become more common in swamps. . Ferns, blueberries, touch-me-nots, orchids, and skunk cabbage are common swamp plants.
Swamps provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife and in many parts, swamps are the only remaining natural cover for larger wildlife. Common swamp animals include wood frogs, salamanders, and both wood and black ducks.

Cypress Swamps
Cypress swamps are found in  the southern United States. They are named for the bald cypress tree. Bald cypress trees are deciduous trees with needle-like leaves. They have very wide bases and  "knees" that grow from their roots and stick up out of the water.  Bald cypress trees can grow to 100 to 120 feet tall.  Fire plays an important role in the establishment of bald cypress swamps.  Cypress trees grow very quickly after a fire and  reestablish themselves before other trees have a chance to grow!  Many of the bald cypress trees in cypress swamps in the U.S. were cut down in the late 1800's and the early 1900's.  The wood from the bald cypress is resistant to rot and was a popular wood for building.  Other trees and shrubs like pond cypress , blackgum, red maple, wax myrtle, and buttonwood can also be found in cypress swamps.  Animals like  white-tailed deer, minks, raccoons, anhingas, pileated woodpeckers, purplegallinules, egrets, herons, alligators, frogs, turtles, and snakes are often found in cypress swamps.

From Lake to Swamp
Swamps start out as lakes, ponds or other shallow bodies of water.  Over time, trees and shrubs begin to fill in the land.  Plants die and decay and the level of the water gets lower and lower. Eventually, the original body of water becomes a swamp.

Okefenokee Swamp 
The Okefenokee Swamp is located in southeastern Georgia and northern Florida.  It is about 25 miles wide and 40 miles long. Not all of the Okefenokee is a swamp, part of it is a bog. In fact, Okefenokee is an Indian word that means "Land of the Trembling Earth."  Parts of the swamp are so boggy that you can shake the trees by stomping on the ground!  Trees in the Okefenokee swamp include giant tupelo and bald cypress.  Mammals like the raccoon, black bear, white-tailed deer, bobcats, redfox, and river otter make the swamp their home. Reptiles in the swamp include the eastern diamondback rattlesnake,  cottonmouth,  eastern coral snake, copper head, alligator, and snapping turtle.  Birds like the barred owl, anhinga, great egret, great blue heron, and sandhill crane are also found in the swamp. Plants like the pitcher plant, water lily, and spanish moss that grow in the swamp can survive in the nutrient poor soil and acidic soil of the Okefenokee swamp.

Functions &Values
Swamps serve vital roles in flood protection and nutrient removal. Floodplain forests are especially high in productivity and species diversity because of the rich deposits of alluvial soil from floods. Many upland creatures depend on the abundance of food found in the lowland swamps, and valuable timber can be sustainably harvested to provide building materials for people.

In very dry years they may represent the only shallow water for miles and their presence is critical to the survival of wetland-dependent species like wood ducks (Aix sponsa), river otters (Lutra canadensis), and cottonmouth snakes (Agkistrodon piscivorus).

Status
Due to the nutrient-rich soils present in swamps, many of these fertile woodlands have been drained and cleared for agriculture and other development. Over 70 percent of the Nation's floodplain forested swamps have been lost. Historically, swamps have been portrayed as frightening no-man's-lands. This perception led to the vast devastation of immense tracts of swampland over the past 200 years, such as the destruction of more than half of the legendary Great Dismal Swamp of southeastern Virginia.

Shrub swamps

Shrub swamps, are similar to forested swamps, except that shrubby vegetation such as buttonbush, willow, dogwood (Cornus sp.) , and swamp rose (Rosa palustris) predominates. In fact, forested and shrub swamps are often found adjacent to one another. The soil is often water logged for much of the year, and covered at times by as much as a few feet of water because this type of swamp is found along slow moving streams and in floodplains. Mangrove swamps are a type of shrub swamp dominated by mangroves that covers vast expanses of southern Florida.

Bogs

Sphagnum creates bogs by holding water and creating acidic conditions. Sphagnum itself may be up to 70 percent water.

Bogs are one of North America's most distinctive kinds of wetlands. They are characterized by spongy peat deposits, acidic waters, and a floor covered by a thick carpet of sphagnum moss.

Bogs receive all or most of their water from precipitation rather than from runoff, groundwater or streams. As a result, bogs are low in the nutrients needed for plant growth, a condition that is enhanced by acid forming peat mosses.
There are two primary ways that a bog can develop:
--> bogs can form as sphagnum moss grows over a lake or pond and slowly fills it (terrestrialization), or
--> bogs can form as sphagnum moss blankets dry land and prevents water from leaving the surface (paludification).

Over time, many feet of acidic peat deposits build up in bogs of either origin. The unique and demanding physical and chemical characteristics of bogs result in the presence of plant and animal communities that demonstrate many special adaptations to low nutrient levels, waterlogged conditions, and acidic waters, such as carnivorous plants.

Functions and Values
Bogs serve an important ecological function in preventing downstream flooding by absorbing precipitation.
Bogs support some of the most interesting plants in the United States (like the carnivorous sundew), and provide habitat to animals threatened by human encroachment.
Status
Bogs are mostly found in the glaciated northeast and Great Lakes regions (northern bogs), as well as in the southeast (pocosins). Their acreage declined historically, as they were drained to be used as cropland, and mined for their peat which was used as a fuel and a soil conditioner. Recently, bogs have been recognized for their role in regulating the global climate by storing large amounts of carbon in peat deposits. Bogs are unique communities that can be destroyed in a matter of days, but require hundreds, if not thousands, of years to form naturally.

Fens

Fens, like bogs, are peatlands, but because they are fed by groundwater they are not so acidic as bogs. Fens, are peat-forming wetlands that receive nutrients from sources other than precipitation: usually from upslope sources through drainage from surrounding mineral soils and from groundwater movement. Fens differ from bogs because they are less acidic and have higher nutrient levels. They are therefore able to support a much more diverse plant and animal community. These systems are often covered by grasses, sedges, rushes, and wildflowers. Some fens are characterized by parallel ridges of vegetation separated by less productive hollows. The ridges of these patterned fens form perpendicular to the downslope direction of water movement.

Over time, peat may build up and separate the fen from its groundwater supply. When this happens, the fen receives fewer nutrients and may become a bog. Like bogs, fens are mostly a northern hemisphere phenomenon -- occurring in the northeastern United States, the Great Lakes region, the Rocky Mountains, and much of Canada -- and are generally associated with low temperatures and short growing seasons, where ample precipitation and high humidity cause excessive moisture to accumulate.

Functions & Values

Fens, like bogs, provide important benefits in a watershed, including preventing or reducing the risk of floods, improving water quality, and providing habitat for unique plant and animal communities.

Status
Like most peatlands, fens experienced a decline in acreage at a rate of about eight percent from 1950 to 1970, mostly from mining and draining for cropland, fuel, and fertilizer.
Fens may be dominated by woody or herbaceous vegetation. Trees often invade herbaceous fens, making true. that much more rare. It is important to recognize that while mining and draining these ecosystems provide resources for people, up to 10,000 years are required to form a fen naturally.

1. Visit the Okeefenokee Swamp ( online link here.. be forewarned this is a multipage site! )

2. Visit a northern bog ( class project)

3. Visit the Everglades ( video if time)