wet water lands Flashcards
U5
T/F: you can tell that a habitat is a wetland when you see lots water on the surface
False, not all wetlands have water on the surface
hydrophytes are
Water loving planes
hydric soils have ____ organic content on top and underneath ____ mineral layers
High
Grey, anaerobic
Why is some soil red and other soil grey?
Red soil occurs via redox reactions with iron and oxygen.
Grey soil doesn’t have oxygen so can’t undergo redox reaction with iron = grey colour
Wetland functions x3
- dampen flood events
- process and purify runoff
- hotspots of biogeochemical cycles (carbon storage and processing)
wetlands get drained when you connect them to
Larger lakes
Wetlands are classified based on
Geomorphology
Hydrology
Climate
Nutrient input
Vegetation
Most wetlands located in the far north. Why do you think that is?
Because high precipitation and low evaporation keeps the water on the surface of earth
Coastal wetlands:
- “transitional”, this means…
- important ______ of storms
- 3 coastal wetlands:
- transitional in terms of varying salt through wetland (more salt near sea, less salt as you approach inland)
- buffers
- tidal salt marshes, mangrove swamps, floating marshes
Tidal salt marsh:
- have ____ waters
- harsh habitat in terms of:
- lots of ______
- ____ but _____ diversity of biota
- brackish
- wet-dry cycle, large temperature fluctuations
- grasses
- abundant but limited
what does the term brackish waters mean
Influenced by ocean tides
why do tidal salt marshes have large termpature fluctuations
Because since there’s a wet dry cycle, sometimes the marsh doesn’t have any water = no water as insulator with the suns harsh rays
mangrove swamps
- lots of _______ trees
Occurs in areas with minimal _____ action and ______ accumulation
- sediment is _____-
- species exhibit ______
Halophytic/mangrove
- minimal wave action and sediment accumulation
Anoxic
Zonation
t/F: the same type of mangrove tree is found within the entirety of a mangrove swamp
False
Different types of mangrove species the further in you go inland (more salt water on edge, more freshwater inland = different mangrove species across gradient)
Floating marshes
- vegetation forms _____ that float on water
- common in _______
Thick mats of roots
River deltas and other stable environments
marsh vs swamp
Swamp = trees
Marsh = herbaceous planes
riparian wetlands
- beside _____
- flooding is beneficial for riparian wetlands because:
- easily affected by _____
Rivers
Because exchange of nutrients between river-forest and spawning of some fish species linked to flooding
Human activities
T/f: riparian wetlands can be with trees or herbaceous plants expending on water content
True
Pothole wetlands
- ____ ecosystems
- depressions formed byt ________
- can be highly _____
Marsh
Retreating glaciers
Saline
why can pothole wetlands be hella salty
Because high evaporation in prairies and salt gets left behind like a loser
peatlands
- ______ wetlands that accumulate ____
- _____ exceeds _____
- has lots of ______
Depressional that accumulate organic matter
Production exceeds decomposition
Carbon
why do peatlands have high production and LOW DECOMP
Low temperature (arctic) and high acidity or alkalinity = harsh environment = not lots of microbes that can survive here
bogs vs fens
- water flow
- nutrient level
- acidity levels
- diversity levels
bogs:
- water flow = low
- nutrient level = low
- acidity levels= acidic af
- diversity levels = low
Fens:
- water flow = receives hella runoff
- nutrient level = high
- acidity levels = neutral to alkaline
- diversity levels = high
Smaller wetlands are
- mostly fed by ____
- can be seasonal hotspots of ____
- can be created by _____
Precipitation
Diversity
Animals
wetlands characteristics:
Permanence
Predictability
Seasonality
wetlands sources of water:
Precipitation
Surface water
Gorund water
Evapotranspitation levels
Tides
t/f: a wetland enviornment is always the same across the entire wetland
False: many sub habitats can exist in a single wetland
Wetlands are at risk from global warming by:
Increased evaporation
Changing precipitation patterns
Increased decomposition in peatlands
T/f small wetlands with permanent flow are most at risk
False
Small wetlands with NON-permanent flow
