Engineering and fabrication

What are the components of a wetland and why is it important to preserve them?

I need some help with my science homework... and luckily it isn't due until Friday but i would like to know... What are the components of a wetland and why is it important to preserve them?

Public Comments

1. The ecosystem that dwells in it.


2. Wetlands have plants whose roots are submerged at least part of the year. The soils are usually saturated with water and very low in dissolved oxygen.

   Wetlands are important in the grand scheme of things because wetlands:

   .. provide habitat, nesting, resting, and feeding grounds for migratory birds

   .. filter pollutants from runoff water before it runs into surface water systems such as lakes or rivers

   .. act as overflow areas during times of high water to prevent serious flooding

   .. replenish groundwater as water soaks down to the water table

   .. are valuable ecosystems providing habitat for many species that cannot live anywhere else



3. Wetlands are areas of land covered in water at least 3 months of the year. Many animals that the ecosystem depends on live in the wetlands.


4. The main components of a wetland include (1) the hydrology is such that there is some degree of flooding or soil saturation; (2) the vegetation is composed of plants adapted to grow in water or in a soil or substrate that is occasionally oxygen deficient due to saturation (hydrophytes); and (3) the soils are those saturated long enough during the growing season to produce oxygen-deficient conditions in the upper part of the soil, which commonly includes the major part of the root zone of plants (hydric soils).

   It is important to preserve them because wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat, improve water quality and protect property from flooding and erosion.