GOOD MORNING!

WETLANDS ARE WONDERFUL!

BRAINSTORM CHALLENGE! One minute!

DIFFERENCES? “RIVER” VS. “WETLAND”

LEGAL DEFINITION OF A “WETLAND” Hydric soils

Anaerobic; grey in color (lacks O2 to turn Fe particles red)

Hydrophilic plantsBladderwartSedges, rushes, reeds

HydrologyStanding water at least two weeks of the

year

DIFFERENCES? Wetlands vs.

rivers –Slower waterMore plant

lifeMore shallowMay be

seasonal/ephemeral

FLOATING HYDROPHYTES

EMERGENT HYDROPHYTES

WETLAND TYPES• bogs and fens of the northeastern and

north-central states and Alaska• wet meadows or wet prairies in the

Midwest• prairie potholes like the Katy Prairie• playa lakes of the southwest and Great

Plains• bottomland hardwood swamps of the

south• tundra wetlands of Alaska.• Coastal salt marshes or tidal marshes

ACIDIC ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS IN BOGS PRESERVE ORGANIC MATERIALS

GALVESTON – TIDAL MARSHES

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES OF

WETLANDS

NATURAL WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, NEUTRALIZES ACIDS/BASESFILTERS OUT SEDIMENT (PLANT STEMS/STILL WATER)PROVIDES DECOMPOSITION OPPORTUNITIES (REMOVING PLANT NUTRIENTS, OXYGEN DEMANDING WASTES)

FLOOD PROTECTION – COHESION OF POLAR WATER IN HYDRIC SOILS

HABITAT AND BIODIVERSITY

REST STOPS FOR MIGRATORY WATERFOWL

EROSION PROTECTION DURING STORMS

NURSERY FOR YOUNG FISH, CRABS, SHRIMP Louisiana's

coastal marshes produce an annual commercial fish and shellfish harvest that amounted to 1.2 billion pounds worth $244 million in 1991.

WETLANDS HAVE RECREATIONAL, HISTORICAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL VALUES.

• More than half of all U.S. adults (98 million) hunt, fish, birdwatch or photograph wildlife. They spend a total of $59.5 billion annually. Painters and writers continue to capture the beauty of wetlands on canvas and paper, or through cameras, and video and sound recorders.

THREATS TO WETLANDS Historically, they

were considered “wastelands”

Development Agriculture

IN THE COASTAL WATERSHEDS OF THE ATLANTIC, PACIFIC, THE GULF OF MEXICO, AND THE GREAT LAKES,

WETLANDS WERE LOST AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF ABOUT 80,000 ACRES PER YEAR

BETWEEN 2004 AND 2009.

Half of the original wetlands have been destroyed!

BUT! WE CAN BRING THEM BACK! Restoration projects in our area.

WETLANDS REMOVE WATER POLLUTANTS Sediment Oxygen demanding wastes Acids Plant nutrients (nitrates/phosphates)

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS CAN BE USED TO CLEAN WATER

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS FOR SEWAGE TREATMENT

Wastewater is initially treated in an underground primary and secondary treatment system (SANTEC Model SC-26K) before being pumped to the tertiary system.  Eight of the treatment cells were planted with a variety of broad- and narrow-leaved emergent plants, and six of the cells were planted with three species of woody plants.  Capacity of the system in 1994 was 6,800 galloons per day and, when plants matured, final capacity was 13,800 gallons per day.

THE KATY PRAIRIE The Katy Prairie