Wetlands
Wetlands, whether swamp, bog, marsh or fen, are waterlogged areas where aquatic plants thrive. Some, like the Okavango Delta, dry up seasonally. Others, like the fenlands of England, are permanently wet. The shallow water can be fresh, brackish or salty, as wetlands often occur where a terrestrial habitat meets a marine one. They can be an effective natural flood control mechanism, allowing excess river water, for example, to disperse over large areas, and are particularly important for birds.
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Brute force
Wild Africa
Hippos shape the course of the Okavango river delta.
The Okavango is a river delta that fans out across a vast area but never reaches the sea. It has been shaped by the land, the water and the sheer brute force of the animals that live there. Hippos carve out channels in the mud as they move around which changes the flow of water around the swamp. Satellite images courtesy of NASA.
Volga Delta
Realms of the Russian Bear
The flooding of the River Volga creates a huge wetland delta.
The flooding of the River Volga creates a huge wetland delta.
Featured in the following TV programmes
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Coming soon
Nature's Calendar: Series 1, Autumn: Wetlands
A guide to the best places in Britain to see wildlife this autumn.
Wed 10, 11:00 on BBC Two
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Archived
Realms of the Russian Bear: Green Jewel of the Caspian
This episode shows the verdant beauty of the wetlands surrounding the Caspian Sea.
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Archived
Wild Africa: LAKES AND RIVERS
The rivers and lakes of Africa are it's life blood,bringing water to this most parched of all continents.And wherever there is water,there is life.
Featured in the following Radio programmes
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Archived
Archive on 4: Scott of Slimbridge
Frank Gardner reflects on the career of ornithologist and broadcaster Sir Peter Scott.
Common toad 
Great crested newt 
Whooper swan 
Common cuckoo 
African fish eagle 
Southern carmine bee-eater 
Barn owl 
Greater flamingo 
Great diving beetle 
Harlequin ladybird 
Banded demoiselle 
Polecat 
Human 
European water vole 
Grass snake About Wetlands
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. The world's largest wetland is the Pantanal which straddles Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay in South America. Wetlands should be kept safe and from harm of ecological dangers.
Wetlands are considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems. Plant life found in wetlands includes mangrove, water lilies, cattails, sedges, tamarack, black spruce, cypress, gum, and many others. Animal life includes many different amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
In many locations, such as the United Kingdom, Iraq, South Africa and the United States, wetlands are the subject of conservation efforts and Biodiversity Action Plans.
Wetlands also serve as natural wastewater purification systems--e.g., in Calcutta, India and Arcata, California.
The study of wetlands has recently been termed paludology in some publications.
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Other Freshwater Habitats
Ecozones where this habitat is found
Useful adaptations for this habitat
Where you find Wetlands
Elsewhere on the web
- Wetland (wikipedia.org)
Site links
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