Wetland Restoration Most people think they know a wetland when they see one, but the delineation of wetlands for the purpose of granting permits has proven enormously controversial. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an area is defined as a wetland when a combination of three technical criteria are met: Wetland hydrology (land that is saturated within 18 inches of the surface for more than seven days per year), Hydrophytic vegetation (a list of plants that will thrive in wet
California, the state contained about 5 million acres of wetland habitat. Unfortunately, over the years California has been willing to part with 91 percent of its wetlands, Southern California having lost 95 percent. Los Angeles County has only one wetland remaining. This being the Ballona Wetlands located between Marina del Rey and the Westchester bluffs, it was once a major part of California’s natural wetland systems. Before development, Ballona wetlands natural habitat covered 2002 acres. This area, 800
River Wetlands Project whose mission “is to restore and protect wetlands in the watershed of the Little River, a major tributary of the Wabash River, and to provide educational opportunities that encourage good stewardship of wetlands and other natural ecosystems” (Little). Founded in 1990, the Little River Wetlands Project is a nonprofit land trust with the goal of restoring and preserving the wetlands in the watershed of the Little ... ... middle of paper ... ...ns and Values of Wetlands. Retrieved
1.1. Introduction to wetlands Freshwater wetlands are a unique and valuable resource constituting about 6% of the land surface on Earth. They sustain a multitude of unique biological species and provide high levels of primary productivity (Graham & Mendelssohn, 2010). Compared to other natural environments, plant primary productivity in wetland ecosystems is among the highest known (Benner, Maccubbin & Hodson, 1884). Wetlands serve essential ecological functions which provide many important services
Global Warming on Wetlands Introduction Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands include marshes, estuaries, bogs, fens, swamps, deltas, shallow seas, and floodplains. Wetland habitats support a vast range of plant and animal life, and serve a variety of important functions, which include water regime regulation, flood control, erosion control, nursery areas for fishes, fish production, recreation, plant production, aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands account for about
Motivation for Research and Objectives Louisiana contains approximately 40% of the coastal wetlands of the lower forty-eight states. Louisiana has lost up to forty square miles of marsh per year for several decades (accounting for 80% of the nation’s annual coastal wetland loss) (lacoast.gov). From a hydrologic standpoint, the wetlands replenish aquifers, hold excess floodwaters from intense rainfalls, and provide storm surge protection. The Nation also benefits from Louisiana’s coastal lands
Intertidal wetlands Intertidal wetlands are found in coastal areas which have periodic inundation. They contain plants which are able to survive saline conditions They main types of intertidal wetlands are mangroves and salt marsh Intertidal wetland ecosystems are among the most productive plant communities They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide
banking was modeled after the U.S. wetland mitigation banking system and the two programs share many similarities. However, unlike the wetland mitigation system, conservation offsets do not have a stated ‘no net loss’ goal, but instead have a species recovery goal. Both conservation and wetlands mitigation banks are privately or publicly owned lands which are protected and managed for its ecological value. By doing this, the bank sponsor generates habitat or wetland or stream credits to sell to developers
people do not understand the definition of restoration. Restoration of the forest is returning it to its most natural state. However, the forest is not a single use area; it houses some of the most important recourses on Earth. Furthermore, it generates revenue for more than one industry in the United States economy. There are two types of restoration, active and passive but, the focus of this paper is to describe some of the most common active restoration techniques and how it positively influences
Wetlands 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
Wetlands are defined as areas of land that are saturated with water year round and take on characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. In China, northwest of Hong Kong, lies the Mai Po Nature Reserve (22°30′ N and 114°02 E′) (Cheung and Wong 2006). The entire Mai Po Nature Reserve (MPNR) encompasses about 2,700 hectares or about 6700 acres. It is home to some of the world’s most endangered water birds. The wetlands support a large number of migratory water birds every year. During the spring thousands
The Environmental Impact of Wetland Destruction and Deforestation Thesis: The forests and wetlands of the world are being destroyed at unacceptable rates. This destruction is causing many adverse effects on the environment, many of which will not be felt by the global population until they are irreversible. Introduction Human life cannot exist in the absence of complicated interactions of millions of species in biological systems. Yet as humans, we live during a period of the greatest
Oceanography Salt Marshes Salt marshes are coastal wetlands rich in marine life, which are covered by water at least once per month. They are found in the intertidal zones along low-energy coastlines, forming along the margins of estuaries, where freshwater from the land mixes with seawater. These marshes can be found near the Great South Bay and the Long Island Sound. The entire south shore of Long Island is considered to be a salt marsh important to the
Ecological disasters have plagued Louisiana’s coastal ecosystems for many years. It can be seen through the massive loss of coastal wetlands thus destroying habitat for fish populations. Saltwater estuaries are the life support for a variety of fish and crustacean species. With these marshlands disappearing at such a fast rate, it makes sense that the fish populations are going to disappear along with it. If we don’t make change to this dire to situation soon, there might not be this wonderful coastal
research about wetlands because they are very unique and special. Wetlands used to be extremely common during prehistoric times, but now there are only small areas left. Some plants and animals exist only in the wetland biomes, such as the star fruit and water vole. But, as the amount of wetlands decreased, many organisms became endangered and even extinct. We wanted to find out more about what the characteristics of wetlands and what is being done to help the environment. A wetland is an area where
New Paradigms in the Study of "Microtus Ochrogaster" The prairie vole is a small vole found in central North America. The vole has long, coarse grayish-brown fur on the upper portion of the body and yellowish fur on the lower portion of the body. It has short ears and a short tail, which is somewhat darker on top. Taxonomy and distribution The prairie vole's scientific name, Microtus ochrogaster, is derived from Greek; the genus name translates to "small ear" and the specific epithet translates
The Wetlands in Louisiana Louisiana is home to thousands of miles of wetlands. These wetlands provide a home for migratory birds and other wildlife (Goldenberg). They serve as a natural barrier against storms, hurricanes, and flooding (Gallucci). Sadly, we are losing about a football field of the wetlands every hour (Gallucci). In John Grisham’s novel, The Pelican Brief, lawsuits were made against big oil companies regarding the destruction and loss of the brown pelican and its habitat, the wetlands
fewer jobs, and lost economic opportunities. We need to save the birds in the United States. Duck Unlimited (DU) is an organization that helps fight for the safety of ducks and their livelihood. Duck Unlimited claims that “they’re world's leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation” (DU). Ducks Unlimited started back in 1937 during the dust bowl. This made all the water and land dry up, leading to ducks dying
the destruction of Florida’s swamps as a result of the melaleuca tree and the threats to the Louisiana wetlands because of development and hurricanes. She asserts that Swamplandia! highlights the situation in Florida, while The Last of the Ofos covers the conditions in Louisiana. While analyzing these two novels Squint seeks to answer two questions: “How is the destruction of Gulf Coast wetlands comparable to the loss of Indigenous lifeways? And, what kinds of practices are sustainable to maintain
Bog Plants and Their Use in Medicine Although most of the modern world does not often resort to bog plants for medicinal uses when there are more widely accessible forms of medicine to treat certain health needs, there exists numerous medicinal uses for bog plants. The various medicinal uses of different bog plants have developed and changed over the course of history. Bog plants were more commonly used by Native Indians as medicine such as the Ledum groenlandicum (Labrador tea) for sore throats