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Chapter 5

Hydrology and Physiography of Wetland Habitats

Dodds & Whiles

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FIGURE 5.1

A flock of wintering northern pintail ducks (Anas acuta) takes flight from the banks of a wetland in Northern Honshu, Japan. (Photo courtesy of the US Geological Survey).

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FIGURE 5.2

Peat moss mining from a bog in Ireland for use as fuel; face of the bank is approximately 1m tall. (Photo courtesy of Charles Ruffner).

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FIGURE 5.3

States that have lost 50% or more of their wetlands since 1780, labeled with percentage lost. (Data from Dahl et al., 1991).

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FIGURE 5.4

Species richness of five categories of wetland plants in pristine, natural (natural systems receiving agricultural runoff), and restored prairie pothole wetlands. The restored wetlands were formerly cropped and natural revegetation was allowed. (Redrawn from Galatowitsch and van der Valk, 1995).

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FIGURE 5.5

Researchers working on plant diversity plots in a Spartina alterniflora dominated tidal saltwater marsh on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. (Photo by Loretta Battaglia).

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FIGURE 5.6

Above and below the water structure of mangrove trees. (Photo courtesy of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

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FIGURE 5.7

An inland freshwater marsh in Louisiana with abundant floating and emergent vegetation including water lilies (Nymphaea spp.) and American lotus (Nelumbo lutea). (Photo by Loretta Battaglia).

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FIGURE 5.8

A cypress swamp in Louisiana showing the buttressing and “knees” of the baldcypress trees. The water is covered with duckweed (Lemna minor), a floating aquatic plant that is abundant in wetlands. (Photo by Loretta Battaglia).

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FIGURE 5.9

Prairie potholes in northwestern Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife Service).

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FIGURE 5.10

A bog body, the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the fourth century bc. He was found in 1950 buried in a peat bog in Denmark. Low pH, cool temperatures, and anaerobic conditions result in remarkable preservation of soft tissues. (Photo courtesy of Creative Commons).

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FIGURE 5.11

Classification of some subhabitats in two wetland types. Associated with still open water (A) and associated with a slow-moving stream (B). (From Cowardin et al., 1979).