1st Edition

Understanding Wetlands Fen, Bog and Marsh

By S. M. Haslam Copyright 2004

    Wetlands are an important, and sadly diminishing, habitat in many parts of the world. They contribute significantly to the planet's biodiversity, housing thousands of species of plants and animals. Increasingly, human management is required to sustain, and even create these fragile ecosystems, while global changes in climate are also taking their toll.

    Understanding Wetlands explains how wetlands are created naturally and how they sustain themselves. It describes how the flora and fauna of these unique habitats are ideally adapted to their environment, and how the ecosystem copes with pollutants and climatic change. The impact of human activity such as farming, building, and recreation is also assessed. The book concludes with a look at the need for conservation and various conservation techniques.

    This integrated and holistic account of wetlands is a valuable reference for students of ecology, biology, and environmental science. Its beautiful illustrations and accessible style also make it ideal for the general reader with an interest in the natural world.

    INTRODUCTION
    Wetland basics
    Ideas on wetlands: fact and fable
    The creations of the waters
    WETLANDS MATTER
    Introduction, and the World Charter for Nature
    Values
    Considerations of values
    Wetland to Dryland: the changing from fish and fowl to grain and vegetable
    Wetland products
    HOW WETLANDS WORK
    Introduction
    Integrating wetland processes
    Wetland landscapes
    Biodiversity
    IN WETLAND WILDS
    Continuities and discontinuities
    Geomorphological, hydromorphic, and similar classifications
    Vegetation classification
    Wetlands in the landscape
    Bog
    Marsh
    Reedswamp
    Fens
    Tall herb and short herb communities
    Grassland
    Woodland
    THE ANIMALS
    Introduction
    Invertebrates
    Fish
    Birds
    Mammals
    Reptiles
    Amphibia
    Microorganisms and fungi
    THE WATERS OF THE WETLANDS
    Water in the landscape
    Soil and drainage
    Vertical fluctuations
    Sideways movement
    Vegetation as an indicator of water regime
    Case studies
    Discussion
    CHEMICAL TYPES AND VEGETATION TYPES
    Introduction
    Chemical types in the landscape
    Plants as indicator of nutrient regime
    Case studies
    Chemical impact
    THE POWER TO PURIFY
    Principles and definitions
    How fens, marshes and reedswamps (natural and constructed wetland) act chemically
    Purification
    Buffer strips
    PHRAGMITES: A STUDY IN PLANT BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN USE
    The plant unit
    The seasonal cycle
    The seedling and young plant
    The advancing plant
    Chemistry and competition
    The water
    The thatching reed
    The maintaining of the stand
    Conclusion
    THE SILENT BATTLEFIELD: VEGETATION CHANGES
    Vegetation develops
    Sallow (Salix cinerea) carr invasion
    Carex paniculata and Phragmites australis
    Galium aparine (goosegrass) in tall-herb fen vegetation
    The Schoenus nigricans community
    Schoenus nigricans and Molinia caerulea
    Schoenus nigricans
    andCladium mariscus
    Phragmites made sparse in three other vegetation types
    Reedswamp invasion of open water
    A native and an introduced grass in the Camargue, France
    Phalaris arundinacca and Urtica dioica in flood meadows, River Luznice, Czech Republic
    Typha spp. In North America
    Cladium mariscoides and Typha jamaicense in the Everglades, Florida
    Myrica gale, Cladium mariscus and the keeper
    Combined ills
    Conclusions


    THREATS AND LOSSES, PAST AND PRESENT
    The major dangers
    Management and loss of Broadland over time in East Anglia
    Deterioration of waterfowl and wet grassland
    Reedswamp dieback
    CONSERVATION
    Introduction
    Principles of conservation

    Biography

    Haslam\, S. M.

    "This volume should be very useful to managers, scientists, and students interested in almost all aspects of northern forested wetlands. In fact, it is a necessary addition to the library of anyone interested in general wetland ecology and management."
    -Michael G. Messina, Department of Forest Science, Texas A & M University