PA Wetlands

What is a wetland?

area where water covers
the soil permanently or
seasonally

What characteristics do wetlands
have to be a wetland….

• water must be present at or on the surface of the ground for a portion of the year or all the time.

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• Hydric soil - permanently

or seasonally saturated
with water - anaerobic
conditions

• What does anaerobic mean?

What characteristics do wetlands
have to be a wetland….

• Supports hydrophytes: A

plant that grows only in or on water

YOUR TURN…

• Take the next 10 minutes to

research the 4 basic categories of wetlands.

• Be sure to use credible sources, not

just the first thing that comes up in Google!

Pennsylvania Wetlands

• 407,000 acres of PA are wetlands

• Three general types of wetlands in PA

1. Forested Wetlands
2.Scrub-Shrub Wetlands
3.Emergent Wetlands

Forested Wetlands

• Areas where the dominant plants =

matured woody trees

• Make up 220,000 acres of PA

wetlands(45%)

Scrub-Shrub Wetlands

• Dominant plants are mostly shrubs

and plants under 20 ft.

•Spice bushes

•Honey suckles
•High bush blueberries

Scrub-Shrub wetland

• Covers 139,000 acres of PA Wetlands
(28%)

Emergent Wetlands

• Marshy areas where plants are rooted in the soil but emerge above the water

• Covers 52,000 acres of PA wetlands

(14%)

1. Habitat

• Wetlands are home to hundreds of different species

● 500 plants species of concern
● 80% of PA’s amphibians
● 41% of PA’s reptiles
● 120 species of birds

2. Food Factories

• Plants form the base of wetland

food webs

• Very high primary (plant) productivity rates.

productivity rates = rate at which
energy is converted from sun to
organic compounds

3. Spawning Grounds and

Nurseries

• Ideal location to lay eggs

4. Cycling Nutrients

• Wetlands cycle phosphorus, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen in the ecosystem.

5. Buffer Zones

designated areas used to protect sensitive landscape
patches (e.g., wetlands, wildlife reserves) from negative external pressures

6. Pollution Control

• #1 water pollutant in PA = sediment

• Wetlands play a huge role in reducing

sediment pollution
–Slow down water movement
–Decreased movement allows

sediment to settle

6. Pollution Control

• Also help prevent air pollution

–Many wetland plants store carbon tather than releasing it into the air as carbon dixoide

–Too much CO2 - Climate change

WHY are buffer zones important?

1. Reduce flood damage
2. Slow run off


3. Protect stream banks - soil erosion
4. Protection from nutrient leakage
5. Providing shade for fish and other

plants.