What kinds of wetlands exist?
“Wetlands” is a general term for a large variety of terrain types including freshwater marshes, bogs, fens, ponds, prairie potholes, swamp forests, shrub swamps, vernal pools, and wet meadows. The precise definitions can vary from one source to another; the following definitions are based primarily on those published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Water, and supplemented by other sources. Bogs Bogs are characterized by spongy peat deposits, acidic waters, and a floor covered by a thick carpet of sphagnum moss. Precipitation is the primary—or even sole—source of water, resulting in scant nutrients for plant growth. Bogs usually form either when sphagnum moss fills a lake or pond or when sphagnum moss blankets dry land and prevents water from leaving the surface. A thick layer of acidic peat deposits builds up over time. Bogs serve an important ecological function in preventing downstream flooding by absorbing precipitation. There a
