Wetlands
By: Dr. James Anderson
•An estimated 221
million acres of
wetlands occurred in
the 48 states prior to
European settlement
Since that time, more
than 53% of those
wetlands have been
drained or filled for
development,
agriculture, resource
extraction, and other
purposes.
•
53% Lost
West Virginia
has an estimated
102,000 acres of
wetlands, which
is less than 1
percent of the
state's land area
•
•In the late 1700s, it
was estimated that
West Virginia had
134,000 acres
present, which was
24% more than the
current acreage.
• West Virginia has fewer
wetlands than many states
primarily because of its rugged
topography, but there are some
well-known wetlands in the
state such as:
• Cranberry Glades
• Canaan Valley
• Pine
Swamp
• Cranesville Swamp
•The rugged topography
limits the number of
wetlands in West Virginia.
• In West Virginia,
numerous wetlands occur
where man-made
structures, such as roads
and railroads, impound
water
• Wetlands
can also be
found around the margins
of lakes and farm ponds,
rivers, and seeps
• So What
is a Wetland?
“All areas...in which the
natural declivity is insufficient,
when the forest cover is removed,
to reduce the soil to the measure
of dryness necessary for
agriculture. Whenever any form of
engineering is necessary to
secure this desiccation the area is
classified as swamp.”
Today two primary
definitions are used, the
scientific and the
regulatory
The scientific definition
used by the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service
defines wetlands as
“lands transitional between
terrestrial and aquatic systems
where the water table is usually at
or near the surface or the land is
covered by shallow water. For
purposes of this classification
wetlands must have at least one or
more of the following attributes:
(1) at least periodically, the
land supports predominantly
hydrophytes;
(2) the substrate is
predominantly undrained
hydric soil; and
(3) the substrate is nonsoil and
is saturated with water or
covered by shallow water at
some time during the
growing season of each
year.”
The regulatory definition used by
the United States Environmental
Protection Agency and the United
States Army Corp of Engineers
defines wetlands as:
“those areas that are inundated or
saturated by surface or ground
water at a frequency and duration
sufficient to support, and that under
normal circumstances do support, a
prevalence of vegetation typically
adapted for life in saturated soil
conditions.”
Within wetlands three
parameters are present:
1) Hydrology-indicates
that water is present on
the surface or within the
root zone
2)
Hydric soils-have unique
properties that are related to
alternating wetting and
drying of the soils
3)
Hydrophytic
vegetation (or
hydrophytes)- are
particular plants
such as cattails
(Typha spp.) that
are tolerant of wet
soil or low oxygen
conditions
Hydrology +
Hydric Soil +
Hydrophytic
Vegetation =
• Wetlands are known by a variety of
names including aquatic, bogs,
bottomlands, fens, marshes, mires,
moors, muskegs, peatlands, playas,
potholes, ponds, sloughs, swamps,
riparian (streamside), salt marshes,
seeps, vernal pools, wet prairie, and
wet meadows
•playas
•marsh
•Wet meadow
• Common types of wetlands
occurring in West Virginia are
aquatic, bogs, marshes,
swamps, riparian
(streamside), seeps, and wet
meadows
• There
also is a scientific
classification used for
mapping and reference
purposes
• Based on this classification
most wetlands in West Virginia
are a type of palustrine
emergent, palustrine scrubshrub, palustrine forested, or
palustrine unconsolidated
bottom/ unconsolidated shore
wetlands
• Palustrine wetlands have less
than 0.5 parts per thousand of
ocean-derived salt and are
generally dominated by trees,
shrubs, or persistent emergent
vegetation (vegetation that
lasts at least until the next
growing season).
• If wetlands do not meet these
criteria, they are considered
lacustrine, estuarine, or
riparian wetlands
• Most West Virginia
wetlands are Palustrine.
• Wetlands provide numerous
ecological functions and also
are valuable economically
• Precipitation and run-off are
stored in wetlands, which
changes sharp run-off peaks to
slower discharges over longer
time periods reducing the
potential for flooding
• For example, 9,300 acres of
wetlands along Charles River
(Massachusetts) was estimated
to prevent $17 million in
damage/year from floods
• Wetlands are highly
productive wildlife habitats
• Almost 50% of the federally
listed threatened or
endangered animal species
rely on wetlands
• Birdwatchers visit wetlands to
see and photograph bald
eagles, red-winged blackbirds,
kingfishers, tree swallows, and
many other birds and wildlife
• It is estimated that $10 billion
is spent annually by 50 million
people observing and
photographing wetlanddependent wildlife
• Wetlands contribute millions
of dollars annually in terms of
fish, fur, alligator hides, and
other commercially valuable
wildlife species
• Wetlands also supply cash
crops of cranberries,
blueberries, peat moss, and
timber
• Wetland plants can remove toxic
contaminants from water and soil
and they absorb agricultural
fertilizer, nutrients, and pesticides
before they pollute waterways
• Wetlands also
have been used
in treating acid
mine drainage
from abandoned
coal mines
• Wetlands are primarily conserved
through management or
conservation of existing wetlands
and through construction of new
ones
• Wetlands are
often managed
specifically as
habitat for
wildlife species
• Many of the national wildlife
refuges also are focused on
wetland habitats for migratory
birds
• Wetlands can be made more
productive by manipulating the
water regimes to promote seed
germination of favorable forage
and seed-producing plants
• There
is no
comprehensive
federal
legislation
designed
specifically to
conserve
wetlands
• However, some
wetlands
are protected under Section
404 and 401 of the federal
Clean Water Act, which
regulates the discharge of
dredged or fill material into
the waters of the United
States
• If an area meets the regulatory
definition of a wetland it is
illegal to fill it in unless a federal
and state permit is obtained
• However, there
are
exceptions to this rule
• Wetlands
not associated
with a stream (isolated
wetlands) currently are not
protected
• Additionally, wetlands
are
offered no protection
against draining and all
wetlands less than 1/10th of
an acre are not protected
• In reality Section 404 and 401 of
CWA only regulates filling of
wetlands greater than 1/10th
acre.
Wetlands that
require a permit can
still be drained, but
mitigation must be
implemented
•
• In
general for every acre
destroyed 2 acres must be
constructed if the impacted
site was an emergent
wetlands or 3 acres must be
constructed for scrubshrub and forested
wetlands
•The federal policy of “no
net wetland loss” also
has helped to slow the
loss of wetlands.
• Wetlands
are highly
productive systems that
provide valuable ecosystem
functions and values to
humans
• The public has recognized these
values and although wetlands
continue to be lost, it is at a much
slower pace than historical rates
• Policies aimed at preventing
wetland loss and requiring that
destroyed wetlands be
mitigated have helped slow this
decline
• However, in many
cases the mitigated
or constructed
wetlands do not
perform as well as
natural wetlands
• In the future, the remaining
wetlands will be increasingly
more important for maintenance
of biodiversity and contributing
to ecosystem functions.
Wetland Related Research
Moist-soil Management
Mute Swans
Otters
Canaan Valley Rare Wetland Plants
Rare Wetland Plant Communities
Vertical Liner
Wetland Mitigation
Ohio River Back Channels
Wetland IBI
Deer Herbivory
Beaver
Mitigation Banking
QUESTIONS????