Why wetlands are important

Contacts Press Jobs. Home About. The Convention and its mission. Wetlands of International Importance. Ramsar Advisory Missions. Home Blog World Wetlands Day: 11 reasons why wetlands are vital for humans and animals.

Image: City of Casper. Rietvlei Wetland Reserve. Image: Jonathan Gill. Image: Google Maps. Rondevlei Nature Reserve. Image: Tim Parkinson. Zeekoevlei Image: Derek Clark. Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve. Image: Raoul Snyman. Green Point Urban Park. Image: warrenski. Wetlands under threat Besides filling them in or damming them, humans have also damaged or destroyed wetlands by planting invasive alien species around them, draining them by piping the water out to sea, or directing filthy stormwater from cities towards them.

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OK Learn more No Thanks. Host an event functions aquarium. Skip to main content. Search Search. Biology and Ecosystems. Apply Filter. What is the Brown Marsh phenomenon? Sudden marsh dieback events are not uncommon and have occurred in coastal marshes from the Gulf of Mexico to Maine. One of the most severe events occurred in What are wetlands? Wetlands are transitional areas, sandwiched between permanently flooded deepwater environments and well-drained uplands, where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water.

They include mangroves, marshes salt, brackish, intermediate, and fresh , swamps, forested wetlands, bogs, wet prairies, prairie Filter Total Items: Pigati, Jeffery S. View Citation. Pigati, J. Geological Survey Fact Sheet —, 2 p. Year Published: Using science to strengthen our Nation's resilience to tomorrow's challenges: understanding and preparing for coastal impacts Hurricane Sandy caused unprecedented damage across some of the most densely populated coastal areas of the northeastern United States.

Simmons, Dale L. Attribution: Natural Hazards. Using science to strengthen our Nation's resilience to tomorrow's challenges: understanding and preparing for coastal impacts; ; FS; ; Simmons, Dale L. Year Published: Land-use change, economics, and rural well-being in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States This fact sheet highlights findings included in a comprehensive new report see USGS Professional Paper which investigated land-use change, economic characteristics, and rural community well-being in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States.

Gascoigne, William R. Year Published: Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana Wetland losses in the northern Gulf Coast region of the United States are so extensive that they represent critical concerns to government environmental agencies and natural resource managers.

Bernier, Julie Attribution: St. Virgin Islands. Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana; ; FS; ; Bernier, Julie. Year Published: Consequences of land use and land cover change The U. Slonecker, E. Consequences of land use and land cover change; ; FS; ; Slonecker, E. Year Published: Estuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change Restoring the greater Everglades ecosystem of south Florida is arguably the largest ecosystem restoration effort to date.

Wingard, G. Year Published: Hydrology and Ecology of Freshwater Wetlands in Central Florida - A Primer Freshwater wetlands are an integral part of central Florida, where thousands are distributed across the landscape. Many of the nation's fishing and shellfishing industries harvest wetland-dependent species.

In the Southeast, for example, nearly all the commercial catch and over half of the recreational harvest are fish and shellfish that depend on the estuary-coastal wetland system.

Louisiana's coastal marshes are tremendously valuable for their commercial fish and shellfish harvest. Wetlands are habitats for fur-bearers like muskrat, beaver and mink as well as reptiles such as alligators. More than one-third of the United States' threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands, and nearly half use wetlands at some point in their lives. Many other animals and plants depend on wetlands for survival. Estuarine and marine fish and shellfish, various birds and certain mammals must have coastal wetlands to survive.

Most commercial and game fish breed and raise their young in coastal marshes and estuaries. Menhaden, flounder, sea trout, spot, croaker and striped bass are among the more familiar fish that depend on coastal wetlands. Shrimp, oysters, clams, and blue and Dungeness crabs likewise need these wetlands for food, shelter and breeding grounds. For many animals and plants such as wood ducks, muskrat, cattails and swamp rose, inland wetlands are the only places they can live.

Beaver may actually create their own wetlands. For others, such as striped bass, peregrine falcon, otter, black bear, raccoon and deer, wetlands provide important food, water or shelter. Many of the U.

Migratory waterfowl use coastal and inland wetlands as resting, feeding, breeding or nesting grounds for at least part of the year. Indeed, an international agreement to protect wetlands of international importance was developed because some species of migratory birds are completely dependent on certain wetlands and would become extinct if those wetlands were destroyed.