By: Zach Adams & Allie Maples

A swamp is a wetland that is primarily composed of trees, or what most called being forested. A marsh is a wetland that is mostly fashioned with smaller plant types like grass and reeds, not large plants such as trees.

Swamps and Marshes can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Vast marshes are found in poorly drained depressions in many parts of the continent.

Swamps develop in moist climates, generally in such places as low-lying. There are a variety of local terms for swamps, including bog, marsh, fen, and moor. Excessively moist and humid conditions define wetland climate. Temperate marshes lying along the Atlantic coast experience steady levels of rainfall throughout the year. Subtropical marshes, however, encounter daily rainfall during the wet season from June through September.

Producers: Specialized plants called hydrophytes thrive in the wet conditions of marshes, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Cypress Trees Black Gum Trees Bromeliads Milkweed Water Lily

Consumers: Snowy Egret American Alligator Red-Bellied Water snake Frogs Dragonflies

Wetland losses from the 1950’s to the 1970’s averaged about 458,000 acres per year. Agricultural development was responsible for about 87 percent of this loss. Of the original 215 million acres of wetlands existing 200 years ago in the continental United States, less than 100 million acres remain. Human activities have altered drainage patterns, destroyed wildlife habitat, and interfered with the natural filtration systems of the wetlands. The Everglades National Park is one example of a swamp that has been altered significantly by human activities. More than 1/3 of the land area in the Everglades is freshwater marsh and cypress swamp. Extensive draining, dredging, and canal-building has reduced swamplands and affected the natural draining and filtering processes of the ecosystem. Most of these activities were conducted before the Everglades became a National Park in 1947.

In the 1990’s wetland losses have averaged about 117,000 acres per year, due to passage of the Clean Water Act, state and local government wetland protections, and the vigilance of community conservationists who challenge the ongoing draining and filling of wetlands, mostly for residential and commercial development.

Wetlands are depended on by countless animal and plant species. Wetlands also serve as a reservoir for runoff water during heavy rain periods. Wetlands provide many benefits including: water quality improvements; food and habitat for fish and wildlife; flood control and shoreline erosion control; and recreation.

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