How many types of wetlands occur?
A large number of terms have been used to describe wetlands all of which, having been regionally determined, have a long history of use and misuse. Hence, the lack of standardisation of terms is confusing but those used to describe wetlands are obviously rich in meaning to people familiar with them. For example, some of the more popular terms used to describe naturally occuring wetlands found in tropical environments are: • Swamp (eg mangrove, paperbark, reed) • Marsh • Bottomland • Sedgeland • Floodplain • Billabong • Spring • Soak • River (perrennial and seasonal) • Stream • Saltmarsh (samphire) There are also many man-made wetlands in the form of such things as dams, lakes, ponds, drains and reservoirs.
