WETLANDS What are wetlands A wetland is a

WETLANDS

What are wetlands?

A wetland is a water resource that has three characteristics: • Wetland hydrology • Wetland soils • Wetland plants

Wetland Hydrology Water that is present in depths less than 6 ft. , or soils are saturated, for 10 days or more during the growing season for the prevalent vegetation;

Hydric soils Soils with physical and chemical characteristics that are associated with lack of oxygen in the soil

Hydric or Wetland Soils Characteristics • Very dark brown or black colored, or sometimes gray or blue; • Distinct smell of rotten eggs when you dig in it; • Can have distinct red or reddish colored spots, called mottles, in it; • Sometimes a “histic epipedon” or a layer of peat-like material at the surface.

Hydrophytic vegetation Vegetation uniquely suited for growing in water or saturated soil conditions

Plants that grow in water have adaptations to get air to roots • Floating leaves • Hollow stems • Roots that grow above the soil/water surface • Trees have “buttresses”, i. e. , very wide trunks at the soil/water surface, sometimes with roots sticking out to help the tree stand in mucky soils.

Where are wetlands found?

• Associated with streams and stream margins • Low gradient (flat) valley bottoms • Sideslopes with springs and seeps • Depressions such as roadside drainage ditches • Tidal estuaries and interdunal swales • Almost anywhere there is standing water during late spring

Why are wetlands important?

Wetlands provide homes for wildlife • Habitat for birds of all types • Refugia for deer and other mammals • Habitat for fish, salmon and other types of aquatic life • Habitat for frogs, turtles, newts, salamanders

Wetlands are valuable so they are protected by law: The Clean Water Act protects wetlands in all states, and in Oregon, the Fill and Removal Law also protects wetlands.

Threats to wetlands • New development like roads, houses, shopping centers and malls: These activities threaten wetlands by filling them in to make land to build on and by increasing the amount of paved area • Farming: Farming can drain or destroy existing wetlands through clearing, plowing, draining, and planting them.

More threats to wetlands: • Water and land pollution: Industrial wastewater being discharged into wetlands, land fills and other activities that pollute surface and ground water • Invasion of wetlands by non-native or pest plants and animals

What will you do to protect our wetlands?