Call them swamps, bogs, marshes or fens: wetlands are found on every continent except Antarctica and in every kind of climate, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Wetlands are created when an area is saturated with surface water or ground water most of the year, particularly during the growing season. Wetlands are home to animals and plants that have adapted to the wet conditions. They also have several features that play a role in the health of the environment
Wildlife Habitat
The dense growth in wetlands provides a safe hiding place for young crabs and fish so they can avoid predators when they are small. Wetlands also serve as a resting place for migratory birds, like ducks and herons. Plus, certain plant and animal species have evolved to grow nowhere else but in wetlands. For example, mangrove trees live only in tidal wetlands that are saturated with saltwater.
Flood Control
- Wetlands serve as a giant sponge, absorbing flood water after heavy rains or snowmelt. According to the Gulf Restoration Network, an acre of healthy wetland can hold up to a million gallons of water. This feature of wetlands makes them particularly important to have around urban areas, which often have heavy water runoff because paved roads prevent rain from soaking into the ground. Wetlands also slow water flow, preventing valuable topsoil from being carried away.
Pollution Absorption
- Wetlands are massive filters, removing pollutants before they can flow into nearby bodies of water. Flood waters carry natural and man-made waste, but wetlands slow that water and allow the waste materials to settle out. This feature of wetlands is so important that many municipal and state agencies have created man-made wetlands to help control pollution around rivers and lakes. In Columbia, Missouri, for example, man-made wetlands are used to treat city wastewater.
Concerns About Wetlands
- Developers have tried to drain wetlands in order to create land to farm or build on, because the benefits of wetlands has not always been well understood. Since World War II, the country has been losing wetlands at the rate of 250,000 acres a year, according to Clemson University professor Greg Yarrow. Yarrow says that 156 plant and animals species listed as threatened or endangered rely on wetlands for their survival. In addition to the EPA, which enforces laws to protect and preserve wetland ecosystems, several charitable organizations also promote the importance of this environmental habitat.
