Swamp

"Swampland" redirects here. For the theoretical-physics concept, see Swampland (physics). For other uses, see Swamp (disambiguation).
A freshwater swamp in Florida
A black alder swamp in Germany

A swamp is a wetland that is forested.[1] Many swamps occur along large rivers where they are critically dependent upon natural water level fluctuations.[2] Other swamps occur on the shores of large lakes.[3] Some swamps have hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodic inundation.[4] The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp forests and "transitional" or shrub swamps. In the boreal regions of Canada, the word swamp is colloquially used for what is more correctly termed a bog or muskeg. The water of a swamp may be fresh water, brackish water or seawater. Some of the world's largest swamps are found along major rivers such as the Amazon, the Mississippi, and the Congo.[5]

Geomorphology and hydrology

Swamps are characterized by slow-moving to stagnant waters. They are usually associated with adjacent rivers or lakes. Swamps are features of areas with very low topographic relief.

Draining

Historically, humans have drained swamps to provide additional land for agriculture and to reduce the threat of diseases borne by swamp insects and similar animals.[6] Many swamps have also undergone intensive logging, requiring the construction of drainage ditches and canals. These ditches and canals contributed to drainage and, along the coast, allowed salt water to intrude, converting swamps to marsh or even to open water.[1] Large areas of swamp were therefore lost or degraded. Louisiana provides a classic example of wetland loss from these combined factors.[7] Europe has probably lost nearly half its wetlands.[6] New Zealand lost 90 percent of its wetlands over a period of 150 years.[8] Ecologists recognise that swamps provide valuable ecological services including flood control, fish production, water purification, carbon storage, and wildlife habitat.[9] In many parts of the world authorities protect swamps. In parts of Europe and North America, swamp restoration projects are becoming widespread.[2][10] Often the simplest steps to restoring swamps involve plugging drainage ditches and removing levees.[11]

Land value, productivity and conservation

Swamps and other wetlands have traditionally held a very low property value compared to fields, prairies, or woodlands. They have a reputation for being unproductive land that cannot easily be utilized for human activities, other than perhaps hunting and trapping. Farmers, for example, typically drained swamps next to their fields so as to gain more land usable for planting crops.

Many societies now realize that swamps are critically important to providing fresh water and oxygen to all life, and that they are often breeding grounds for a wide variety of life. Indeed, floodplain swamps are extremely important in fish production.[12] Government environmental agencies (such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency) are taking steps to protect and preserve swamps and other wetlands. In Europe, major effort is being invested in the restoration of swamp forests along rivers.[2] Conservationists work to preserve swamps such as those in northwest Indiana in the United States Midwest that were preserved as part of the Indiana Dunes.[13][14][15]

Notable examples

Swamps can be found on all continents except Antarctica.[16]

The largest swamp in the world is the Amazon River floodplain, which is particularly significant for its large number of fish and tree species.[17][18][19]

Africa

The Sudd and the Okavango Delta are Africa's best known marshland areas.

Asia

The Tigris-Euphrates river system is a large swamp and river system in southern Iraq, traditionally inhabited in part by the Marsh Arabs.

In Asia, tropical peat swamps are located in mainland East Asia and Southeast Asia. In Southeast Asia, peatlands are mainly found in low altitude coastal and sub-coastal areas and extend inland for distance more than 100 km (62 mi) along river valleys and across watersheds. They are mostly to be found on the coasts of East Sumatra, Kalimantan (Central, East,South and West Kalimantan provinces), West Papua, Papua New Guinea, Brunei,Peninsular Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, Southeast Thailand, and the Philippines (Riley et al.,1996). Indonesia has the largest area of tropical peatland. Of the total 440,000 km2 (170,000 sq mi) tropical peat swamp, about 210,000 km2 (81,000 sq mi) are located in Indonesia (Page, 2001; Wahyunto, 2006).

The Vasyugan Swamp is a large swamp in the western Siberia area of the Russian Federation. This is one of the largest swamps in the world, covering an area larger than Switzerland.

Europe

The Pripyat Swamps in Belarus and Ukraine divided the central and southern theatres of operation during World War II, and served as a hideout for Soviet and Polish partisans. In the summer of 1941, the SS Cavalry Brigade commanded by Hermann Fegelein during the course of "anti-partisan" operations in the Pripyat Swamps killed nearly 18,000 people.

North America

Swamp in southern Louisiana

The Atchafalaya Swamp at the lower end of the Mississippi River is the largest swamp in the United States. It is an important example of southern cypress swamp[20] but it has been greatly altered by logging, drainage and levee construction.[21] Other famous swamps in the United States are the forested portions of the Everglades, Okefenokee Swamp, Barley Barber Swamp, Great Cypress Swamp and the Great Dismal Swamp. The Okefenokee is located in extreme southeastern Georgia and extends slightly into northeastern Florida. The Great Cypress Swamp is mostly in Delaware but extends into Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula. Point Lookout State Park on the southern tip of Maryland contains a large amount of swamps and marshes. The Great Dismal Swamp lies in extreme southeastern Virginia and extreme northeastern North Carolina. Both are National Wildlife Refuges. Another swamp area, Reelfoot Lake of extreme western Tennessee and Kentucky, was created by the New Madrid earthquake of 1812. Caddo Lake, the Great Dismal and Reelfoot are swamps that are centered at large lakes. Swamps are often called bayous in the southeastern United States, especially in the Gulf Coast region.

List of major swamps

A small swamp in the Padstow, New South Wales.
Inside the Mangrove canopy, Salt Pan Creek, New South Wales

The world's largest wetlands include significant areas of swamp, such as in the Amazon and Congo River basins.[19] Further north, however, the largest wetlands are bogs.

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

South America

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hughes, F.M.R. (ed.). 2003. The Flooded Forest: Guidance for policy makers and river managers in Europe on the restoration of floodplain forests. FLOBAR2, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. 96 p.
  3. ↑ Wilcox, D.A, Thompson, T.A., Booth, R.K. and Nicholas, J.R. 2007. Lake-level variability and water availability in the Great Lakes. USGS Circular 1311. 25 p.
  4. ↑ Swamp (from glossary web page of the United States Geological Survey)
  5. ↑ Keddy, P.A., L.H. Fraser, A.I. Solomeshch, W.J. Junk, D.R. Campbell, M.T.K. Arroyo and C.J.R. Alho. 2009. Wet and wonderful: the world’s largest wetlands are conservation priorities. BioScience 59: 39-51.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dugan, P. (ed.) 2005. Guide to Wetlands. Buffalo, New York. Firefly Books. 304 p.
  7. ↑ Keddy, P.A., D. Campbell, T. McFalls, G. Shaffer, R. Moreau, C. Dranguet, and R. Heleniak. 2007. The wetlands of lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas: past, present and future. Environmental Reviews 15: 1- 35.
  8. ↑ Peters, M. and Clarkson, B. 2010. Wetland Restoration: A Handbook for New Zealand Freshwater Systems. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln, N.Z. ISBN 978-0-478-34707-4 (online)
  9. ↑ Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Chapter 11.
  10. ↑ Environment Canada. 2004. How Much Habitat is Enough? A Framework for Guiding Habitat Rehabilitation in Great Lakes Areas of Concern. 2nd ed. 81 p.
  11. ↑ Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Chapter 13.
  12. ↑ Lowe-McConnell, R. H. (1975). Fish Communities in Tropical Fresh waters: Their Distribution, Ecology and Evolution. London: Long man
  13. ↑ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1. http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes
  14. ↑ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation
  15. ↑ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2007). The cultural impact of a museum in a small community: The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 2. http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-2-2007/82-journals/vol-2-2007/104-the-cultural-impact-of-a-museum-in-a-small-community-the-hour-glass-in-ogden-dunes
  16. ↑ Hunter, Malcolm L. (1999). Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press. p. 325. ISBN 978-0521637688.
  17. ↑ Goulding, M. (1980). The Fishes and the Forest: Explorations in Amazonian Natural History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  18. ↑ Lowe-McConnell, R. H. (1975). Fish Communities in Tropical Freshwaters: Their Distribution, Ecology and Evolution. London: Longman
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 L.H. Fraser and P.A. Keddy (eds.). 2005. The World’s Largest Wetlands: Ecology and Conservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 488 p.
  20. ↑ Conner, W. H. and Buford, M. A. (1998). Southern deepwater swamps. In Southern Forested Wetlands: Ecology and Management, eds. M. G. Messina and W. H. Conner, pp. 261–87. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers.
  21. ↑ Reuss, M. (1998). Designing the Bayous: The Control of Water in the Atchafalaya Basin 1800–1995. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History.

External links

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