Wetlands exhibit very high rates of plant productivity - the conversion of energy from the sun into plant materials. Recent studies suggest that some wetland types such as coastal marshes and inland freshwater marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. This high productivity often supports a varied and complex food web both within and outside of the wetland.
Vegetated wetlands along the shores of lakes and rivers can protect against erosion caused by waves along the shorelines during floods and storms.
Many pollutants are washed by rainfall from urban and agricultural lands and are carried overland to water bodies. Pollutants include soil particles, fertilizers, pesticides, grease and oil from cars and trucks, and road salts.
During rain storms and snow melt events, the amount of water running over the surface of the land increases, and in severe storms, flooding may result.
Vermont Wetland Training and Educational OpportunitiesWetland restoration is the process of returning a degraded wetland to an approximation of its pre-disturbance condition. The United States lost over half of its wetlands since European colonization in the early 1600s, and Vermont lost as much as 35 percent. Until recently, wetlands were seen as obstacles to development, agriculture, and travel, and were systematically drained and altered. Conversion of wetlands was accepted practice as recently as the 1950s, and was even incentivized by government policies (see the
Wetland conservation and protection is aimed at preventing the loss of wetlands and the functions and values they provide. The United States lost over half of its wetlands since European colonization in the early 1600s, and Vermont lost as much as 35 percent. Until recently, wetlands were seen as obstacles to development, agriculture, and travel, and were systematically drained and altered. Conversion of wetlands was accepted practice as recently as the 1950s, and was even incentivized by government policies.
Below are reports produced by the Vermont Wetlands Program
Wetland plants, or hydrophytic "water loving" vegetation, are those plants which have adapted to growing in the low-oxygen (anaerobic) conditions associated with prolonged saturation or flooding. These plants have adapted to anaerobic soil conditions by evolving alternative methods of collecting oxygen such as the hypertrophied lenticels in the bark of speckled alder; the hollow stems of rush and grass species; and the air filled cells (aerenchyma) in the roots of cattails.
