Wetlands Research Paper

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 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. 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...

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... they are not all destroyed. Experts believe that due mostly to the intervention of man wetlands may change to fit the surrounding environment. Things like pollution and the intervention of man have caused wetlands to adjust to have life forms more resistant to pollution. Other scientists predict that the wetlands should remain the same the way they have for the thousands of years they have been around. All in all it is our responsibility to preserve these landscapes, and with the clock ticking we are rapidly running out of time to save these precious ecosystems.

*By the time you finish reading this 42 acres of wetlands will be gone*

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, David, Jr. Stream Ecology. Sioux City: Chapman and Hall, 1995.

Angel, Heather. The Water Naturalist. Memphis: Windmill Publishers, 1982.

Gomez, Jane. The Everglades. Boston: Houghton, 1992.

Marshall, Alexandra. Still Waters. New York: William Marrow & Co., 1978.

Mitchell, John G. “Our Disappearing Wetlands.” National Geographic October 1992: Pgs.44.

Mairson, Alan. “Florida Everglades: Dying For Help.” National Geographic April 1994: Pgs. 2-35.

“Wetlands” Encarta Encyclopedia. Ed. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Inc. Copywrite 2001