Limno Wetlands

Bogs

• wetland that is stagnant and acidic

• thick layer of floating root masses or peat on the surface

• no regular inlet or outlet of water, so dependent on precipitation

• surface water depressional

• found in the northern United States

• 70 day hydraulic residence time

• P:B of 0.1 (greater than swamps

• Most amount of peat

marshes

• wetlands with nonwoody plants

• groundwater or regular inlet and outlet

• salt or freshwater

• inland or coastal

• greatest P:B ratio

• 4 day hydraulic residence time

• neutral pH

• intermediate amount of peat

swamps

• wetlands with trees and shrubs

• open systems

• abundant in the south

• little peat because the trees are not deciduous and there’s not a lot of herbaceous vegetation

• smallest hydraulic residence time. 0.4 days

• smallest P:B ratio, 0.07

• smallest amount of peat/organic matter

• variable pH

fens

• type of wetland

• ground water depressional, so fed through water table

• mineral rich water

• HR time of 5 days

• highly variable amount of peat

• neutral pH

vernal pools

• type of wetland

• surface water depressional

• covered by shallow water for variable periods from winter to spring

• dry for summer and fall

bottomland hardwoods

deciduous forested wetlands, found along rivers and streams generally in the broad floodplain of the southeast and south United States

mangrove swamps

coastal saltwater shrub or forested wetlands that may be flooded with water all year around or only during high tide. found along the coast of the southern United States

prairie potholes

depressional wetlands found in the Upper Midwest, especially in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. major waterfowl breeding and migration resting areas

playa lakes

periodically flooded wetland basins that are common in parts of the Southwest and Plains areas

Pocosins

broad-leafed evergreen shrub bogs found in the Southeast. they may not be readily apparent because the thick underlying peaty soils dry out rapidly after the early part of the growing season

weltands

habitats characterized by:

• hydrophytic vegetation

• alluvial soils (formed by processes involving water)

• wet at least part of the year

arenchyma

air spaces found in the stems and roots of herbaceous wetland plants

lacunae system

the lattice-like network of interconnected air spaces within wetland plants which conducts oxygen to the roots

pneumatophores

specialized adventitious tree root in swamps. usually exposed (like mangroves)

arenchyma, the lacunae system, pneumatophores

how do plants oxygenate their roots in anoxic aquatic soils?

neutral

pH of marshes

Broad range

pH of swamps

acidic

pH of bogs

open system (rivers)

water sources for marshes

neutral

pH of fens

open system (rivers)

water sources for swamps

rain

water sources for bogs

groundwater

water sources for fens

bogs

what wetland has the most amount of peat?

swamps

what wetland has the least amount of peat?

hydraulic residence time

how much the water stays in a wetland. indicates the flow of nutrients, roughly related to the fertility of the wetland

P:B ratio (productivity to biomass)

this ratio is due to the death and decay of most marsh plants each year rather than a large difference in primary production.

swamps have massive biomass because of the long-lived trees

Bog>fen>marsh>swamp

HR time of wetlands from greatest to least

70 days, 5 days, 4 days, 0.4 days

marsh>bog>swamp

P:B ratio of wetlands. similar productivity so basically ranked from least biomass to highest biomass

eutrophic>average>oligotrophic

productivity pattern of wetland categories. high to low

marshes>swamps>bogs>ferns

productivity rankings of the wetlands. high to low

seasonal

pattern of vernal pools, filled by rain in the winter/spring, dry up in summer and fall

Mediterranean

climate of vernal pools - cool, wet winters and dry, hot summers. since they are shallow, they dry up every year

77%

percentage of vernal pool flora which is annual, meaning they complete their life cycle within one season and die

vernal pool species

high endemism, low species richness

one example of endemism is aquatic tolerant vascular plant species

fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp, clam shrimp, copepods

crustaceans in vernal pools

evolution

what are vernal pools useful to study?

91%

percentage of the 200 plants associated to vernal pools which are NATIVE to california

55%

percentage of the 200 plants associated with vernal pools which are ENDEMIC to california

69%

percentage of the 200 plants associated with vernal pools which are restricted to the California Floristic Province (Southern Oregon, California, and northern Baja California)