Wetlands Crisis

Wetlands are a critical component of our environment and are thought off as being among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Wetlands are defined as geographical areas where water covers or overly saturates the soil during the majority of growing seasons (CZM). They vary based on their appearances and locations which are greatly influenced by regional and soil divergence such as topography, climate, water chemistry, vegetation as well as human degradation (CZM).

Wetlands are identified based on three major attributes: the constant availability of water (hydrology), the presence of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and the developmental condition of the soil (hydric) (CZM). Wetlands, which consists of a variety of natural systems such as marshes, wet meadows, bogs and swamps all support both aquatics as well as terrestrial life and are often classified as being tidally influenced wetlands or non-tidal wetlands(CZM). United States Coastal wetlands are very prevalent along the Atlantic, Gulf or Atlantics coastlines while non-tidal as known as inlands are found along rivers and stream in floodplains mostly dominated by herbaceous plant species (CZM).

In the 1600,s which marked the beginning of colonial era, it was estimated that 220 million acres of wetlands which are now considered the lower 48 states in the United States existed. Forwarding 400 years later, the United States has now lost more than half of its originals wetlands and the resources which comes along with it. Between the years of 1932 to 2000, the state of Louisiana accounted for 80 % percent of the wetland loss in the United States alone with approximately 2,000 square miles loss to the Gulf of Mexico (Tibbett’s, 2006). It is determined that if no dr...

... middle of paper ...

...and, the beaches are vulnerable to erosion caused by normal wind and wave energy and especially during more severe events such as hurricanes and storm surges (LSU).

Works Cited

New England Wetlands: Ecology, Functions, and Degradation Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Agency. Mass,gov. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. http://www.mass.gov/czm/wanewet.htm.

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/departments/SPESS/Coastal+Plants/coastal_plants_breeding/

Howes, N. C., FitzGerald, D. M., Hughes, Z. J., Georgiou, I. Y., Kulp, M. A., Miner, M. D., . . . Barras, J. A. (2010). Hurricane-induced failure of low salinity wetlands.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(32), 14014-14019

Tibbetts, J. (2006). Louisiana’s wetlands: A lesson in nature appreciation. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(1), A40.