Freshwater marsh

Short description: Non-tidal, non-forested marsh wetland that contains fresh water

Freshwater marsh, Naselle River, Washington (state)

Freshwater marsh in Kittery Point, Maine

A freshwater marsh is a non-tidal, non-forested marsh wetland that contains fresh water, and is continuously or frequently flooded.[1] Freshwater marshes primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants.[2] Freshwater marshes are usually found near the mouths of rivers, along lakes, and are present in areas with low drainage like abandoned oxbow lakes.[3] It is the counterpart to the salt marsh, an upper coastal intertidal zone of bio-habitat, which is regularly flushed with sea water.

## Contents

* 1 Vegetation
* 2 Animals
* 3 Soil
* 4 Hydrology
* 5 Functions and Services
* 6 Restoration
* 7 Notable Marshes
* 7.1 Florida Everglades
* 7.2 Okavango Delta
* 7.3 Rift Valley
* 7.4 Mesopotamian Marshlands
* 8 See also
* 9 References

## Vegetation

Cattail marshland at Tifft Nature Preserve, Buffalo, New York

Creek in Pennsylvania which feeds the water in a surrounding freshwater marsh.

Freshwater marshes are highly productive and therefore can support a large biodiversity of vegetation. Vegetation is a key component in determining the structure of a freshwater marsh.[4] In a freshwater marsh, there are emergent plants, floating plants, floating leaved and submerged.[5] The primary plant in freshwater marshes are emergent plants. Emergent plants are plants with soft stems and are highly adapted to live in saturated soils.[1] Freshwater marshes have a lengthy growing season and contain high nutrient levels in the water and substrate, which contribute to an overall high net primary production.[6] Some of the most common plants in these areas are cattails, water lilies, arrowheads, and rushes.[7]

## Animals

Many types of animals use freshwater marshes for habitat at some point in their life cycles. Birds, amphibians, reptiles, fish and macro-invertebrates can be found within freshwater marshes.[8] Birds use freshwater marshes for nesting. Common species of birds found in a freshwater marsh include ducks, geese, swans, songbirds, swallows, coots, and black ducks. Although shallow marshes do not tend to support many fish, they are used as a nursery to raise young. The deeper ones are home to many species, including large fish such as the northern pike and carp.

## Soil

Soils contain organic matter, air, water and mineral matter.[5] The soil has very slow decomposition rates and is often black or brown.[5] Soils are characterized by hue, chroma and value.[5] The soils in wetlands are often hydric in nature, which means they are completely saturated and have no oxygen.[5]

## Hydrology

Freshwater marshes are dynamic ecosystems. Aspects of the water like depth, velocity, oxygen concentration, and temperature change frequently.[4] Marshes can be classified based on their hydrology. Marshes can be flooded permanently, intermittently, temporarily, seasonally, and semi-permanently.[4] Groundwater reserves, water moving across the surface and precipitation are the three main sources of water in marshes.[8]

## Functions and Services

Wetlands have many services and functions that benefit the Earth. Marshes can remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it in their biomass or the ground.[8] Many of the wide variety of species that freshwater marshes can support, provide services to humans. Many different types of food are produced within a freshwater marsh like fruits, rice, vegetables like taro, and fish.[8] Freshwater marshes can also provide clothing in the form of pelts and materials for building such as reeds.[8] Freshwater marshes also provide recreational services like fishing, bird-watching, water fowl hunting, and trapping.[8] Another important function of marshes is flood mitigation. Marshes can slow down the rate at which water is travelling and create a buffer zone to stop flooding.[8]

## Restoration

There are many different techniques to restoring a wetland. One common way freshwater marshes are restored is restoration of channelized rivers.[5] When rivers are channelized and straightened, the marshes alongside the rivers disappear. Reverting rivers back to their natural state will allow nearby marshes to form again.[5] Another way to restore freshwater marshes is to break down levees, dikes, and berms that impede rivers from flooding.[5] Another technique to restore freshwater marshes is to re-plan cities and infrastructure to incorporate wetlands instead of draining them to build on them.[5]

## Notable Marshes

### Florida Everglades

The Florida Everglades represent the largest contiguous freshwater marsh in the entire world.[9] This immense marsh covers 4,200 square miles (11,000 km2) and is located in the southern tip of Florida. The Everglades is home to animals such as the American Alligator, the Apple Snail and the Everglade Snail Kite.[4] Alligators create depressions in the mud that retain water during the dry season. These wet depressions or alligator holes are important to fish, reptiles, and amphibians during the dry season.[4] The vegetation of the Everglades include grasses, sedges, and other emergent hydrophytes.[10] Continued human development, including drainage for development and polluted agriculture runoff, as well as alterations in the water cycle, threaten the existence of the Everglades.

### Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of Africa's largest freshwater marshes. Before the flowing water reaches the Okavango Delta, it comes from Angola and passes through Namibia.[4] This marsh is so large that it can support commercial and recreational fishing.[4] There are many tree islands within the Okavango marsh due to termites. Termites colonies build mounds in the dry season that later become flooded. The crowns of the mounds stay above water level and can support trees and other vegetation.[4] The tree islands become a hot spot for biodiversity within the marsh.[4] Continuous proposals for rerouting the river that fills the marsh is the main cause of concern for the future of this wetland.[4]

### Rift Valley

Rift Valley is located in Eastern Africa. Lake Naivasha is surrounded by tropical, freshwater marshes in the extensive 6,500 kilometer rift valley.[5] These marshes are home to cattail, papyrus, and floating mats of other plants.[5] This marsh is also home to ducks, herons, and crayfish.[5] The rifting in the valley is enlarging the lake, creating more wetlands in the surrounding area.[5]

### Mesopotamian Marshlands

The Mesopotamian Marshlands are located in southern Iraq and Iran.[5] The confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers create the Mesopotamian Marshlands.[5] The Mesopotamian Marshlands were once the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East, covering an area of 15,000 to 20,000 square kilometers.[5] In the 1980s and 1990s, this marshland was drained by upstream dams and water control structures, down to 10% of the original area.[5] The marshland is located on the intercontinental flyway of migratory birds and is used by two-thirds of West Asia's water fowl.[5] The marsh is currently dominated by an invasive grass, Phragmites australis.[5]

## See also

* Brackish marsh
* Salt marsh

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 US EPA, OW (2015-04-09). "Classification and Types of Wetlands". https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/classification-and-types-wetlands.
2. ↑ "TPWD: Wetland Functions and Values". https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/habitats/wetland/ecology/functions_values.phtml.
3. ↑ "Freshwater Marshes - NatureWorks". Nhptv.org. http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep7h.htm.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Valk, Arnold G. van der. (2012). The biology of freshwater wetlands. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199608942. OCLC 814150577.
5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 Mitsch, William J., author. (2015-03-09). Wetlands. ISBN 9781118676820. OCLC 1042861465.
6. ↑ Bayley, Suzanne E.; Zoltek, John; Hermann, Albert J.; Dolan, Thomas J.; Tortora, Louis (1985). "Experimental Manipulation of Nutrients and Water in a Freshwater Marsh: Effects on Biomass, Decomposition, and Nutrient Accumulation". Limnology and Oceanography 30 (3): 500–512. doi:10.4319/lo.1985.30.3.0500. ISSN 0024-3590. Bibcode: 1985LimOc..30..500B.
7. ↑ "Florida Wetlands: Freshwater Marshes". Wetlandextension.ifas.ufl.edu. http://wetlandextension.ifas.ufl.edu/types/marsh.htm.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Aldridge, D (April 2001). "Keddy PA. 2000. Wetland ecology: principles and conservation. 614 pp. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. £32.95 (softback).". Annals of Botany 87 (4): 548. doi:10.1006/anbo.2000.1343. ISSN 0305-7364.
9. ↑ Laura Riley; William Riley (1 January 2005). Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves. Princeton University. p. 491. ISBN 978-0-691-12219-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=icMuBQhW4vgC&pg=PA491. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
10. ↑ "Freshwater Marsh Habitat". Biol.andrews.edu. http://www.biol.andrews.edu/everglades/ecosystems/FreshwaterMarsh_Page/FreshwaterMarsh_Index.htm.

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Aquatic ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems – general and freshwater components

| General|

* Acoustic ecology
* Adaptation
* Agent-based models
* Algal bloom
* Anoxic waters
* Aquatic animals (Insects
* Mammals)
* Aquatic plants
* Aquatic science
* Benthos
* Biodiversity research
* Bioluminescence
* Biomass
* Biomonitoring
* Cascade effect
* Colored dissolved organic matter
* Camouflage and mimicry
* Dead zone
* Ecohydrology
* Ecosystems
* Eutrophication
* Fisheries science
* Food chain
* Food web
* GIS and aquatic science
* Hydrobiology
* Hypoxia
* Isotope analysis
* Microbial ecology
* Microbial food web
* Microbial loop
* Nekton
* Neuston
* Particle
* Pelagic zone
* Photic zone
* Phytoplankton
* Plankton
* Pleuston
* Predation
* Productivity
* Ramsar Convention
* Respiration
* Schooling
* Sediment trap
* Siltation
* Spawning
* Substrate
* Thermal pollution
* Toxicology
* Trophic level
* Water column
* Zooplankton
* More...

|
|

Freshwater|

* Biology
* Biomes
* Ecosystems
* freshwater
* lake
* river
* Fish
* Hyporheic zone
* Limnology
* Lake stratification
* Macrophyte
* Pond
* Fish pond
* Rheotaxis
* Stream bed
* Stream pool
* Trophic state index
* Upland and lowland
* Water garden
* Wetland
* brackish marsh
* freshwater marsh
* swamp
* bog
* fen
* Environmental quality
* More...

Ecoregions|

* Freshwater (List)
* Marine (List)
* The Everglades
* Maharashtra
* The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
* The San Francisco Estuary

Aquatic ecosystems – marine components

| Marine|

* Marine biology
* Marine chemistry
* Deep scattering layer
* Diel vertical migration
* Ecosystems
* large marine
* marine)
* f-ratio
* Iron fertilization
* Marine snow
* Ocean nourishment
* Oceanic physical-biological process
* Ocean turbidity
* Photophore
* Thorson's rule
* Upwelling
* Whale fall
* More...

|
|

Marine
life|

* Bacteriophages
* Census
* Fish
* coastal
* coral reef
* deep sea
* demersal
* pelagic
* Deep sea communities
* Deep sea creature
* Deep-water coral
* Invertebrates
* Larvae
* Mammals
* Marine life
* Algae and plants
* Microorganisms
* Paradox of the plankton
* Reptiles
* Seabirds
* Seashore wildlife
* Vertebrates
* Wild fisheries

Marine
habitats|

* Bay mud
* Coastal biogeomorphology
* Cold seeps
* Coral reefs
* Davidson Seamount
* Estuaries
* Intertidal ecology
* Intertidal wetlands
* Kelp forests
* Hydrothermal vents
* Lagoons
* Mangroves
* Marine biomes
* Marine habitats
* Mudflats
* Rocky shores
* Salt marshes
* Salt pannes and pools
* Seagrass meadows
* Sponge grounds
* Sponge reefs
* Tide pools

Issues|

* Coral bleaching
* Ecological values of mangroves
* Fisheries and climate change
* HERMIONE
* Marine conservation
* Marine conservation activism
* Marine pollution
* Marine Protected Area

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Coastal geography

Landforms|

* Anchialine pool
* Archipelago
* Atoll
* Avulsion
* Ayre
* Barrier island
* Bay
* Baymouth bar
* Bight
* Bodden
* Brackish marsh
* Cape
* Channel
* Cliff
* Coast
* Coastal plain
* Coastal waterfall
* Continental margin
* Continental shelf
* Coral reef
* Cove
* Dune
* cliff-top
* Estuary
* Firth
* Fjard
* Fjord
* Förde
* Freshwater marsh
* Fundus
* Gat
* Geo
* Gulf
* Gut
* Headland
* Inlet
* Intertidal wetland
* Island
* Islet
* Isthmus
* Lagoon
* Machair
* Marine terrace
* Mega delta
* Mouth bar
* Mudflat
* Natural arch
* Peninsula
* Reef
* Regressive delta
* Ria
* River delta
* Salt marsh
* Shoal
* Shore
* Skerry
* Sound
* Spit
* Stack
* Strait
* Strand plain
* Submarine canyon
* Tidal island
* Tidal marsh
* Tide pool
* Tied island
* Tombolo
* Windwatt

Beaches|

* Beach cusps
* Beach evolution
* Coastal morphodynamics
* Beach ridge
* Beachrock
* Pocket beach
* Raised beach
* Recession
* Shell beach
* Shingle beach
* Storm beach
* Wash margin

Processes|

* Blowhole
* Cliffed coast
* Coastal biogeomorphology
* Coastal erosion
* Concordant coastline
* Current
* Cuspate foreland
* Discordant coastline
* Emergent coastline
* Feeder bluff
* Fetch
* Flat coast
* Graded shoreline
* Headlands and bays
* Ingression coast
* Large-scale coastal behaviour
* Longshore drift
* Marine regression
* Marine transgression
* Raised shoreline
* Rip current
* Rocky shore
* Sea cave
* Sea foam
* Shoal
* Steep coast
* Submergent coastline
* Surf break
* Surf zone
* Surge channel
* Swash
* Undertow
* Volcanic arc
* Wave-cut platform
* Wave shoaling
* Wind wave
* Wrack zone

Management|

* Accretion
* Coastal management
* Integrated coastal zone management
* Submersion

Related|

* Bulkhead line
* Grain size
* boulder
* clay
* cobble
* granule
* pebble
* sand
* shingle
* silt
* Intertidal zone
* Littoral zone
* Physical oceanography
* Region of freshwater influence

* Category
* Commons

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Wetlands

Generally|

* Acrotelm
* Aquatic ecosystem
* Aquatic plants
* Atchafalaya Basin
* Backswamp
* Bayou
* Beach meadow
* Blackwater river
* Blanket bog
* Bog
* Bog garden
* Brackish marsh
* Callows
* Carr
* Cataract bog
* Ciénega
* Clean Water Act
* Clearwater river
* Coastal bog
* Coniferous swamp
* Constructed wetland
* Dambo
* Drainage basin
* Estuary
* Fen
* Flark
* Flood-meadow
* Flooded grasslands and savannas
* Freshwater marsh
* Freshwater swamp forest
* Grass valley
* Guelta
* Halosere
* Hydrosere
* Igapó
* Ings
* Interdunal wetland
* Intertidal wetland
* Karst
* Kermi bog
* Kettle
* Lagg
* Mangrove
* Marsh
* Marsh gas
* Mere
* Mire
* Misse
* Moorland
* Muck
* Mudflat
* Muskeg
* Oasis
* Palsa bog
* Paludification
* Palustrine wetland
* Plateau bog
* Pocosin
* Polygonal bog
* Pond
* Peat swamp forest
* Poor fen
* Pothole
* Raised bog
* Reed bed
* Rich fen
* Riparian zone
* River delta
* Salt marsh
* Salt pannes and pools
* Shrub swamp
* Slough
* String bog
* Swamp
* Telmatology
* Tidal marsh
* Upland bog
* Wet meadow
* Will-o'-the-wisp
* Várzea forest
* Vernal pool
* Whitewater river
* Yaéré

Classification systems|

* Wetland classification
* A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia
* National Wetlands Inventory
* Ramsar Convention

Organizations|

* Bangladesh Haor and Wetland Development Board
* Delta Waterfowl Foundation
* Ducks Unlimited
* Wetlands International
* Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust

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