1. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands1 Pennsylvania Wetlands

2. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands2 Pennsylvania 29 million acres 407 000 acres are wetlands 4 000 of those have been restored since 1990 Various wildlife programs To maintain and restore when necessary

3. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands3 Three general types in Pa Forested Scrub – shrub wetlands Emergent Wetlands

4. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands4 Forested wetlands

5. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands5 Scrub-shrub wetlands

6. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands6 Emergent wetlands

7. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands7 Forested wetlands Dominant plants mature woody plants Tall trees over 20 feet tall Red and silver maples Black gum River birches Green ashes 220 000 acres

8. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands8 Black gum tree

9. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands9 River Birch

10. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands10 Green Ash

11. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands11 Scrub-shrub wetlands Dominant plants Scrub Shrub 139 000 acres

12. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands12 Trees less than 20 feet tall Alders willows

13. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands13 Spicebushes

14. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands14 High-bush blueberries

15. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands15 Winterberries

16. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands16 Swamp honeysuckle

17. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands17 Chokecherry

18. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands18 Emergent wetlands 52 000 acres Marshy areas Plants are rooted in soil but Emerge above water

19. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands19 Emergent plants Rushes Sedges Grasses

20. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands20 Wetlands at work Habitats Food Spawning grounds Nurseries for aquatic life

21. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands21 Habitat Bacteria Protists Plants Animals Threatened and endangered

22. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands22 Threatened Those species that may become endangered Bald Eagle

23. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands23 Endangered Those species that soon become extinct Bog Turtle

24. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands24 In the US Wetlands make up only 5% They are home to nearly 35% of the threatened and endangered species

25. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands25 Pennsylvania Many of the more than 500 plant species Of concern i.e. threatened and endangered Live in or near the wetlands

26. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands26 Amphibians 80% of the state’s amphibs live in and around wetlands 25% of all the state’s 41 species of reptiles spend nearly all their lives +120 species of birds live in, on or around the wetlands

27. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands27 Food factories High primary productivity rates Plants – major organisms Base of the wetland food web

28. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands28 Food Above the water line - eaten Decomposing plants provide nutrients bacteria protists Fungi Invertebrates

29. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands29 Food Chain Higher order organisms Eat the producers and the consumers

30. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands30 Spawning grounds and Nurseries 200 species of amphibians All wild ducks Geese Swan Bitterns Herons

31. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands31 Flood plains of larger rivers Freshwater fishes

32. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands32 Bullhead

33. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands33 Northern pike

34. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands34 Muskellunge

35. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands35 Walleyes

36. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands36 Bluegills

37. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands37 Coastal wetlands Shell fish and commercial game fish

38. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands38 Salmon

39. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands39 Flounder

40. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands40 Striped bass

41. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands41 Bluefish

42. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands42 Menhaden

43. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands43 Cycling nutrients Plants drive the ecosystem Make the food Photosynthesis Plants retain the food they make

44. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands44 Oxygen Used for respiration by heterotrophs

45. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands45 Plants Move nutrients Phosphorous Nitrogen

46. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands46 Buffer zones Riparian barriers Function as a sponge Absorb Excess runoff Slowly release it back to the environment

47. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands47 Benefits Help reduce flood damage to crops Help control rate and volume of runoff in urban areas

48. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands48 Protect coastlines from erosion Roots of all wetland plants hold soil Plants absorb the action and force of waves Break up the flow of streams and river currents Buffer storm surges

49. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands49 Prevents Hurricane damage Tropical storm damage To roads, houses and other structures

50. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands50 Pollution control #1 pollutant in Pa (by volume) sediment Wetlands slow the river Sediment is deposited Improves water quality for wildlife

51. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands51 Air pollution Plants absorb and store Carbon Reduces Greenhouse gases Lessens global warming

52. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands52 Suburban swamps Urbanization has disrupted Destroyed wetlands Associated with Streams rivers And creeks

53. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands53 Pa waterways Critical to development of cities Pittsburgh Philadelphia Scranton/Wilkes Barre Harrisburg

54. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands54 Best practice approach Preservation of open space in urban areas Philly – by 2020 will lose 173 000 acres of open space

55. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands55 Negative aspects Reduce recreational areas Less attractive to businesses Reduce quality of air and water Landscapes increase risk of flooding

56. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands56 Benefits Vegetation improves air and water quality Filter out gases by photosynthesis Filter out chemicals in water Habitats for wildlife Lessen flooding

57. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands57 Urban wetlands Remnants of streams and rivers prior to development Result from poorly or inadequate development Example: drainage ditches May provide habitat for variety of plants and animals

58. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands58 Benefits Buffer runoff from pavement Empty lots Minimize flooding

59. Katherine Verbeke Pa Wetlands59 Filter Iron, lead, copper in urban runoff Aid in water treatment of large volume of sewage and storm runoff