Natural Wetlands
Natural wetlands are important for maintaining aquatic ecosystem biodiversity and should be considered as part of an effective ecosystem management strategy. There are four major groups of natural wetlands:Fringe wetlands, which include salt marshes and lakeside marshes in which water typically flows in two opposite directions, influenced by lunar and/or storm tides,
• Riverine wetlands, which occupy floodplains, are usually characterised by water flowing in one direction,
• Depressional wetlands, such as prairie potholes, which usually receive much of their water from runoff and/or groundwater seepage rather than from surface water bodies, so that water residence times are longer,
• Peatlands also have long water residence times, but the accumulated peat creates a unique hydrologic regime that differs from the previous three types of wetlands