When most people think of wetlands the first thing that will pop into their mind will be visions of swamps and flooded plains. These marshy lands would seem to have no purpose, while in reality they are the most precious form of ecosystem that we have in America. Wetlands contribute to biodiversity, clean water, flood control, and provide a habitat for millions of species of plants and animals. Even with all this wetlands still face mass destruction, much like the rain forests they are just as productive and face similar rates of devastation (Mitchell, J. (1992, October).
Our Disappearing Wetlands National Geographic, Pg 15).
It really is hard to get someone passionate about a mosquito-infested piece of swamp that seems just to be there to take up space and look bad. This is why wetlands are not backed by too many people to prevent their destruction. The main causes of wetland devastation are all linked to man. Pollution, construction, and farming are what is destroying 300,000 acres of wetlands each year (David Allen, J 1995 Pg. 24).
Pollution is one of the most potent forms of destruction in that a small amount can cause such damage to a wide variety to plants and wildlife.
Construction is another threat because as the population grows the demand for affordable housing goes up. Also with a rise in population comes a demand for food, which leads the to last and most destructive threat to wetlands, farming. Farming is all the threats to wetlands rolled into one; it builds over hundreds of acres of land and pollutes it with fertilizers and herbicides. There are many misconceptions about wetlands that the public has due to the fact that there is not much public interest to save the wetlands. Well what exactly is a wetland? A lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife, but in actuality a wetland is so much more than that. Depending on the type of wetland suggests the function it performs for the environment. We now realize that wetlands are important and valuable ecosystems.
The Essay on The Destruction Of Wetlands
The Destruction of Wetlands The destruction of wetlands is the issue of the modern American ecology. First of all, lets give definition to a term wetland. Wetland means the territories that were saturated or inundated by ground water or surface. Wetlands usually include bogs, swamps, marshes and other similar areas. The major part of wetlands is located Alaska. Approximately than 103,000,000 acres ...
They are home to many beautiful and rare species. They filter runoff and adjacent surface waters to protect the quality of our lakes, bays and rivers. Wetlands also protect many of our sources of drinking water. They are the source of many commercially and recreationally valuable species of fish, shellfish and wildlife. They retain floodwaters and protect shorelines from erosion (Gomez, J. 1992, Pg. 3).
There are several types of wetlands each differing in its location, climate, and the life supported. There are Northern Bogs, Prairie Potholes, Cypress Swamps, vernal pools, Southern Bottom Lands, and Coastal Marshes. For example bogs are especially good for trapping CO2 in the form of peat, coastal marshes filter out saltwater coming inland from the ocean, and cypress swamps (Above) absorb pollutants into their sediment. One very beautiful as well as beneficial wetland is the vernal pool. Vernal pools are naturally occurring depression type wetlands that are covered by shallow water from winter to spring, but may be completely dry for most of the summer and fall. These wetlands range in size from small puddles to shallow lakes and are usually found in a gently sloping plain of grassland. Although generally isolated, they are sometimes connected to each other by small drainages known as vernal swales.
Beneath vernal pools lies either bedrock or a hard clay layer in the soil that helps keep water in the pool. Climatic changes associated with each season cause dramatic changes in the appearance of vernal pools. The pools collect water during winter and spring rains, changing in volume in response to varying weather patterns. During a single season, pools may fill and dry several times. In years of drought, some pools may not fill at all. In the spring, wildflowers often bloom in brilliant circles of color that follow the receding shoreline of the pools. By early summer, the water has evaporated, and the clay pools appear brown, barren, and cracked.
The Term Paper on Minnesota Wetland Restoration Wetlands Water Lakes
Minnesota Wetland Restoration .".. and from the swamp came the SWAMP THING! The ugliest, scariest and fowl smelling creature you could ever imagine." This is how many wetlands are perceived: as dank, smell places and breeding grounds for diseases. But that is untrue. Wetlands are a vital and very important part of our environment. In the past 10 years over 10 million acres of wetlands have been ...
However, appearances may be deceiving. The unique environment of vernal pools provides habitat for numerous rare plants and animals that are able to survive these harsh conditions. Many of these plants and animals spend the dry season as seeds, eggs, or cysts, and then grow and reproduce when the ponds are flooded again. In addition, birds such as egrets, ducks, and hawks use vernal pools as a seasonal source of food and water (Marshall, 1978).
Prairie potholes are a very beneficial wetland that is home to dozens of migratory waterfowl. They are found primarily in the Upper Midwest, especially North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. This formerly glaciated landscape is covered with a vast number of potholes, which fill with snowmelt and rain in the spring.
Some prairie pothole marshes are temporary, while others may be virtually permanent. Here, as in other marshes, submerged and floating aquatic plants take over the deeper water; while bulrushes and cattails grow closer to shore, and wet marshes lie next to the upland. These wetlands are a sort of cousin to vernal pools, sharing the same location, and seasonal waters. (Marshall, 1978).
Another infamous type of wetland is the bog. These wetlands have for centuries have been shrouded with mystery.
Bogs are known for their ability to produce peat, which is just as valuable as coal. They also have the ability to preserve things, one such incident in 1987 where a 2,800-year-old corpse was pulled from the swampy waters in near perfect condition ((March, 1987)Mysteries of the Bog National Geographic).
This man had been killed during the Iron Age, in a ritualized thiefs execution, which involved the torture and eventual slitting of the throat. Such wetlands in Florida preserved the bodies of hunter gathers for thousands of years after they died. So in a sense wetlands can provide us with vital archeological evidence. However all this evidence is being threatened as peat bogs are being mined into extinction. The greatest benefit wetlands have is on the environment they support, with out these lands many species of plants and animals.
The Essay on Water Quality Vs. Fish Population
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Many fish that live in the ocean depend on the wetlands. One may ask how a wetland could be necessary for a fish that lives in the ocean? The answer is that wetlands serve as breeding grounds for many animals, not just fish, as well as act as nurseries for when the animals are just born. It is said that half the fish that are caught commercially rely on wetlands to reproduce (Marshall, A. 1978, Pg. 45).
Wetlands are critical to the fish industry, which continues to over farm the oceans.
This is a problem obviously because there are more and more fish being caught and less places f or them to breed. This is also true with migratory birds, which use the wetlands to make pit stops and raise their young. It is the life that the wetlands support which makes them North Americas rain forests. In fact a wetland produces just as much life as a rain forest of the same size, and they are both being destroyed at about the same rate (Mitchell, J. (1992, October).
Our Disappearing Wetlands National Geographic, Pg 15).
While wetlands are able to support life they also protect surrounding ecosystems by taking in pollutants that would normally poison the land. There is one more very important element of wetlands that benefits both humans and animals, and that is CO2 reduction.
According to the EPA since 1990 the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen dramatically. Wetlands are our immediate protection from this because they take in as much CO2 as the rain forest and out put just as much oxygen. Wetlands reduce the amount of CO2, not just by photosynthesis but also in the form of what is called peat. Peat is a dark brown coal like substance, which is created by the decay and carbonization of plants in the water of wetlands or bogs (Encarta 2001: Peat).
Peat is still mined today for its fuel uses, which is another cause of destruction to wetlands. So in short peat is both a protector of the atmosphere and a useful fuel source, unfortunately wetlands are destroyed for it.
Lets say for a moment that there is a utilitarian who doesnt eat fish, cares not for bird watching or bio-diversity, and never listens to the reports on global warming. What about people right now? Well people need water, and lots of it. The city of Los Angeles consumes millions of gallons of water everyday. Of course this water does not come from wetlands, but wetlands prevent the contamination of where our water does come from. With out wetlands natural and non-natural pollutants would flow into our rivers, lakes, aquifers and reservoirs (Mitchell, J. (1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands.
The Essay on River Project Water Mississippi Fish
Since the beginning of the Americas the rivers have been a very important source of transportation. If not for the river the shipment of goods would have taken a very long time and would have been almost impossible through the dense forests of the New World. The Mississippi in time has been used for transportation. The Native Americans used the river as a source of food and also to get to prime ...
National Geographic, pp. 14-15).
Coastal Marshes also act as a go between to stop salt water from coming inland to lakes and rivers. Coastal marshes are the most fertile form of wetlands that support dozens of species of plants and animals. Animals like shrimp, crabs, and eatable fish all spend sometime in coastal wetlands. These animals are a good, as well as expensive source of food.
Other animals like oysters and clams also live in wetlands. Not only do wetlands protect our water, but they also protect us from water. Since wetlands can be looked at as sponges, they do a very good job at preventing floods. When wetland loss reached its peak last year in Florida, the state began to have huge problems with flood control and landslides. Landslides are prevented by wetlands because they absorb excess water that can go elsewhere and soften the ground. Wetlands also hold the land together, the roots of its trees and shrubs hold the soil in place, which prevents disasters.
They can also protect us from the force of water, coastal marshes help break the waves that come from the ocean which helps protect the near by land and potential housing (Angel, 1982).
Plants are another important aspect of wetlands. Plants form the base of wetlands and everything else lives on top of them. Plants are what holds the wetlands together, literally, in cypress swamps especially the roots of the trees stabilize the surrounding land and keep it from being eroded or washed away. Plants also provide a good source of food while performing other tasks to improve the wetland. One good example of this is a plant called duckweed it grows in swamps, absorbs pollutants in water, and is a favorite food among ducks (Mitchell, J.
(1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, pp. 30-31).
These plants do benefit humans too, wild cranberries grown naturally in bogs and marshes. Other plants such as cattails and water lilies grow in wetlands and are said to have medicinal purposes. Like I said before one of the greatest aspects of wetlands are the animals that live in them. What makes the wetlands unique is the life that they support and the species of animals that will live only there. A very common sight to wetlands are birds.
The Term Paper on Clean Safe Drinking Water for the Planet.
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One third of this countys birds live in wetlands and over half will spend time there while migrating. With these creatures homes disappearing, they themselves are also disappearing. In 1940 more than 40 million mallard ducks would land in the wetlands of Central Valley California. Due to massive reclaiming of wetlands especially in California, which has lots over 91% of its wetlands, today no more than 5 million migrate through there each year. Surprisingly even a bird such as a bald eagle has suffered from the damage to the everglades. The bald eagle depends on the everglades for a source of food and a place to raise her young.
They eat the vast amount of fish that live in the marshy waters, and nest in the trees that spring up from the water. Even this most prestigious of animals was hurt when near by Farmers sprayed their crops with DICHLORO DIPHENYL TRICHLOROETHANE or DDT (Mairson, A. (1994, April).
National Geographic, Pg 11).
DDT is a chemical that is used to kill insects and weeds, this chemical is so dangerous that it was used in a more concentrated form as a chemical weapon during World War I. The problem with this insecticide is that the next time it rains it is washed off into a near by water source or in this case a wetland. This poisoned nearby fish, which were eaten by a bald eagle and given to her chicks. It was even worse if the mother had survived because if she laid eggs they would have unusually thin shells, which would break before the embryo was ready to be born.
Naturally this had a devastating effect on their population. Not only are birds affected by the loss of wetlands but dozens of types of animals like frogs, fish, and turtles. Fish are especially dependant on wetlands either for spawning or as a habitat. Since most pollutants are dumped first into the water then fish and other aquatic life are the first to feel the effect of contaminants. Another animal that depends on wetlands are crocodiles, not common to all wetlands, but infamous in the swamps of southern Florida known as the Everglades. The crocodile has had his share of problems because of what man has been doing to the everglades.
The Essay on The Significance Of The Lemon Law Act
It happens many times. A person finds the car of their dreams. They drive it around for a few weeks when it happens. The car will not start, it makes a funny noise, or the breaks just will not do anything while stepping onto the pedal. Does the person have to pay for the repairs all by themselves? And if so, what happens when the exact same problem happens more than 3 times? It is just not fair to ...
Oddly enough this problem comes from near by nuclear power plants, the radioactive waste that was left over caused the crocodile population to slip each year (Mairson, A. (1994, April).
National Geographic, Pg 11).
The everglades are probably the best know wetland in the country, mostly because it is the wetland that is a national park. The Everglades was actually a river that was 50 miles wide and 6 inches deep that flowed from lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay. It technically was never a wetland until man came in and cut it off from Okeechobee. Farmers taped it for water, and drained the land to raise crops.
Engineers built over it, and diverted its flow to provide water for southern Florida. All this chopping off of the everglades caused the water to become stagnant and form a swamp. One of the largest single destructions to the Everglades was the building of Disney World. Hundreds of square miles of wetland were drained or destroyed for the building of Epcot Center. This destruction occurred because it was the least expensive land in all of Florida (Gomez, 1992 Pg. 32).
The Everglades are very special wetlands that have been attacked since the earliest days of our country. The Everglades were considered to be useless wastelands that had to be destroyed for the good of the country. The wetlands were hit hard by destruction, every single form of damage that can come to a wetland happens to the Everglades. When the areas around the Everglades were not heavily populated they were poisoned by the pollution of industrial plants. Previous to 1984 when the area was declared a park, the water in the Everglades contained a pollution level of 5,000 parts per million. This is extremely high compared to bottled water which is 30-50 parts per million (Evian).
Its true that the wetlands have been treated poorly, but it was just as bad if not worse 150 years ago. Back then it was perfectly legal, as well as encouraged to destroy wetlands. So says the Swamp Lands Act of 1850, the bill reads that it is legal and encouraged that people reclaim all swamp lands and marshes so that they might yield agricultural benefits. The swampland act was the first in a set of laws that permitted the destruction of wetlands. Even in the days of the depression Government agents were sent into places like the Everglades and actually trained farmers in how to drain and fill in wetlands for crops. One such orange grove farmer in southern Florida can remember when representatives from Washington taught his father how to drain the wetlands of their water and to put them to good use. The government did all the engineering.
They advised us on how to drain the land. They wanted us to do it. Now were being told to put the water back. Laurence Kropp (Mitchell, J. Our Disappearing Wetlands (1992, October).
National Geographic, Pg 34).
Thankfully today there are far more laws protecting wetlands, unfortunately these laws, more often than not, are loosely enforced or not followed at all. The very first law that was set to protect wetlands was the wetland protection act of 1972. This basically undid what the swamplands act of 1850 had done to destroy these precious ecosystems. This law declared all wetlands as gentle areas that would be protected by the government. It also declared that the Florida Everglades was a Nation Park. Another one of the laws to protect wetlands was section 404 of the clean water act.
Section 404 establishes a program to regulate the discharge of dredge and fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands. Activities in waters of the United States that are regulated under this program include fills for development, water resource projects (such as dams and levees), infrastructure development (such as highways and airports), and conversion of wetlands to uplands for farming and forestry (Section 404 of the clean water act Mitchell, J. (1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, Pg 34).
The basic idea of the program is that no run off of dredged or fill material can be permitted if theres an alternative that is less damaging to the wetlands or if the nation’s waters would be contaminated. In other words, when you apply for a permit, you must show that you have: taken steps to avoid wetland impacts as much as possible, minimized potential impacts to wetlands, and provided compensation for any remaining unavoidable impacts by restoring or creating wetlands (Section 404 of the clean water act Mitchell, J.
(1992, October) Our Disappearing Wetlands. National Geographic, Pg 34).
The next law to be made to protect wetlands was the swampbuster. Contrary to its name it is more of a farmerbuster, providing strict penalties for farmers who harm wetlands. In all honesty though this law is much more lenient, allowing almost any kind of farm activity with the use of a permit. The program discourages farmers from altering wetlands by withholding Federal farm program benefits from any person who converts a wetland for the purpose of or to make agricultural commodity production. Which ba ….
