Marsh

Marshes form where water is very close to, or above, the ground surface for part or most of the year. This results in a waterlogged environment that stays soggy even if there are no pools of standing water. Marshes are either features in their own right, or zones along the margin of a lake or a river's edge. In intertidal areas along the coast, salt marshes sometimes occur. Surprisingly, these are enormously biologically productive.

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What grows here?

What lives here?

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

Insects

Arachnids

Raft spiders

Where you find Marsh

Map showing the location of the Marsh habitat

About Marsh

A marsh is a type of wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species. Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They are often dominated by grasses, rushes or reeds. If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs. This form of vegetation is what differentiates marshes from other types of wetland such as swamps, which are dominated by trees, and bogs, which are wetlands that have accumulated deposits of acidic peat.

Sounds

A marsh near Lake Ndutu, Tanzania (3:56)

Behaviours

Useful behaviours for this habitat

Adapted to swimming

Ecozones

Ecozones where this habitat is found

Habitats

Other Freshwater habitats

Find wildlife

BBC News about Marsh

Ratty returns to nature reserve A project to return water voles to a Warwickshire nature reserve begins with the release of 200 of the elusive mammals.
Snipe increase in Cumbrian marsh

Elsewhere on the BBC

Elsewhere on the web

What is a salt marsh? (cartage.org.lb)
Marsh (wikipedia.org)

Wildlife

Marsh

Watch video clips from past programmes (1 clip)

What grows here?