Wetlands - Why We Need Them
"Wetlands", according to a description found at North Carolina State University's website, is the collective term for marshes, swamps, bogs, and similar areas. Wetlands are found in flat vegetated areas, in depressions on the landscape, and between water and dry land along the edges of streams, rivers, lakes, and coastlines. Wetland areas can be found in nearly every county and climatic zone in the United States. Inland wetlands receive water from precipitation, ground water and/or surface water. Coastal and estuarine wetlands receive water from precipitation, surface water, tides, and/or ground water. Surface water sources include runoff and stormwater.Since the 1600s, more than half of the original wetlands in the lower 48 states have been destroyed. Wetlands have been drained and converted to farmland, filled for housing developments and industrial facilities, and used as receptacles for waste. Human activities continue to adversely affect wetland ecosystems. (NCSU)More recently, society has begun to understand the functions of wetlands and the values humans obtain from them. Wetlands help regulate water levels within watersheds; improve water quality; reduce flood and storm damages; provid
CLASSIFICATIONIn 1979, a comprehensive classification system of wetlands and deepwater habitats was developed for the U. Wetland plants provide breeding sites, resting areas for migratory species, and refuge from predators (Crance 1988). Section 101 specifies the objectives of this Act which are implemented largely through Title III (Standards and Enforcement), Section 301 (Prohibitions). Riverine - All wetlands and deepwater habitats contained within a channel exceptthose wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergents, emergentmosses, or lichens. Today, others often join such artists with cameras and camcorders. This process reduces the amount of water in wetland soil and increases the capacity for absorption of additional precipitation or surface water flow. 3 - Soil saturation and fiber content Soil saturation and fiber content are important factors in determining the capacity of a wetland in retaining water. Clay soils retain more water than loam or sand, and hold the water particles more tightly. 3 - Removal of Pollutants from Surface Water Pollutants, such as nutrients, organics, metals and radionuclides, that affect water quality such as are often absorbed onto suspended solids. Although the passage of the Food Security Act of 1985 "Swampbuster" provision prevented the conversion of wetlands to agricultural production, certain exempted activities performed in wetlands can degrade wetlands: construction and maintenance of irrigation & drainage ditches; construction and maintenance of farm or forest roads; maintenance of dams, dikes, and levees; and direct and aerial application of damaging pesticides (herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, fumigants). Some Activities That Cause Wetland Impairment:UrbanizationUrbanization is a major cause of impairment of wetlands (USEPA 1994b). The federal regulations implementing Section 404 of the Clean Water Act definewetlands as:"Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water(hydrology) at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation (hydrophytes) typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions (hydric soils). Estuarine - Deepwater tidal habitats and adjacent tidal wetlands that are usuallysemi-enclosed by land but have open, partly obstructed, or sporadic access to theocean, with ocean water at least occasionally diluted by freshwater runoff from theland. Such wetlands, however, may perform valuable functions.
Common topics in this essay:
Mitsch Gosselink,
Service Cowardin,
FUNCTIONS VALUES,
Urbanization Urbanization,
United Inland,
Security Act,
LOSS DEGRADATION,
Chesapeake Bay,
Removal Metals,
Water Act,
surface water,
ground water,
water quality,
mitsch gosselink 1993,
fish wildlife,
mitsch gosselink,
gosselink 1993,
water wetland,
usepa 1994b,
section 404,
trees shrubs,
precipitation surface water,
emergents emergent mosses,
coastal estuarine wetlands,
wetlands deepwater habitats,
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Acceptance Essays
