Wetlands provide habitat for thousands of species of aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. Wetlands are valuable for flood protection, water quality improvement, shoreline erosion control, natural products, recreation, and aesthetics.
Wetlands are among the most productive habitats on earth providing shelter and nursery areas for commercially and recreationally important animals like fish and shellfish, as well as wintering grounds for migrating birds. Coastal marshes are particularly valuable for preventing loss of life and property by moderating extreme floods and buffering the land from storms; they also form natural reservoirs and help maintain desirable water quality.
Learn more: USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Related Content
What is the Brown Marsh phenomenon?
Sudden marsh dieback events are not uncommon and have occurred in coastal marshes from the Gulf of Mexico to Maine. Brown Marsh is a term given to the unusually rapid and extensive browning of Louisiana’s saltwater marsh grass Spartina alterniflora, commonly known as oyster grass or smooth cordgrass. One of the most severe events occurred in 2000, when over 100,000 hectares (ha) of salt marsh were...
What are wetlands?
Wetlands are transitional areas, sandwiched between permanently flooded deepwater environments and well-drained uplands, where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. They include mangroves, marshes (salt, brackish, intermediate, and fresh), swamps, forested wetlands, bogs, wet prairies, prairie potholes, and vernal pools. In general terms...
By land, air, and water — U.S. Geological Survey science supporting fish and wildlife migrations throughout North America
Desert wetlands—Archives of a wetter past
Using science to strengthen our Nation's resilience to tomorrow's challenges: understanding and preparing for coastal impacts
Land-use change, economics, and rural well-being in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States
Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana
Consequences of land use and land cover change
Estuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change
Hydrology and Ecology of Freshwater Wetlands in Central Florida - A Primer
Global change impacts on mangrove ecosystems
Natural restoration basics for wetlands
National water summary on wetland resources
Related Content
- FAQ
What is the Brown Marsh phenomenon?
Sudden marsh dieback events are not uncommon and have occurred in coastal marshes from the Gulf of Mexico to Maine. Brown Marsh is a term given to the unusually rapid and extensive browning of Louisiana’s saltwater marsh grass Spartina alterniflora, commonly known as oyster grass or smooth cordgrass. One of the most severe events occurred in 2000, when over 100,000 hectares (ha) of salt marsh were...
What are wetlands?
Wetlands are transitional areas, sandwiched between permanently flooded deepwater environments and well-drained uplands, where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. They include mangroves, marshes (salt, brackish, intermediate, and fresh), swamps, forested wetlands, bogs, wet prairies, prairie potholes, and vernal pools. In general terms...
- Multimedia
- Publications
By land, air, and water — U.S. Geological Survey science supporting fish and wildlife migrations throughout North America
Countless species of animals—big game, birds, bats, insects, amphibians, reptiles, and fish—migrate to reach suitable habitats to feed, reproduce, and raise their young. Animal migrations developed over millennia commonly follow migration corridors—unique routes for each species—to move among seasonal habitats. Changes along those corridors, whether from human development (buildings, roads, dams)AuthorsMona Khalil, Mark Wimer, David H. Hu, Michael J. Adams, Melanie J. Steinkamp, Suzanna C. SoileauDesert wetlands—Archives of a wetter past
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are finding evidence of a much wetter past in the deserts of the American Southwest using a most unlikely source—wetlands. Wetlands form in arid environments where water tables approach or breach the ground surface. Often thought of as stagnant and unchanging, new evidence suggests that springs and wetlands responded dynamically to past episodes ofAuthorsJeffery S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Craig R. MankerUsing science to strengthen our Nation's resilience to tomorrow's challenges: understanding and preparing for coastal impacts
Hurricane Sandy caused unprecedented damage across some of the most densely populated coastal areas of the northeastern United States. The costly, landscape-altering destruction left in the wake of this storm is a stark reminder of our Nation’s need to become more resilient as we inevitably face future coastal hazards. As our Nation recovers from this devastating natural disaster, it is clear thaAuthorsDale L. Simmons, Matthew E. Andersen, Teresa A. Dean, Michael J. Focazio, John W. Fulton, John W. Haines, Robert R. Mason,, Ann B. Tihansky, John A. YoungLand-use change, economics, and rural well-being in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States
This fact sheet highlights findings included in a comprehensive new report (see USGS Professional Paper 1800) which investigated land-use change, economic characteristics, and rural community well-being in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States. Once one of the largest grassland-wetlands ecosystems on earth, the North American prairie has experienced extensive conversion to cultivated agrAuthorsWilliam R. Gascoigne, Dana L.K. Hoag, Rex R. Johnson, Lynne M. Koontz, Catherine Cullinane ThomasTrends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana
Wetland losses in the northern Gulf Coast region of the United States are so extensive that they represent critical concerns to government environmental agencies and natural resource managers. In Louisiana, almost 3,000 square kilometers (km2) of low-lying wetlands converted to open water between 1956 and 2004, and billions of dollars in State and Federal funding have been allocated for coastal reAuthorsJulie BernierConsequences of land use and land cover change
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Climate and Land Use Change Mission Area is one of seven USGS mission areas that focuses on making substantial scientific "...contributions to understanding how Earth systems interact, respond to, and cause global change". Using satellite and other remotely sensed data, USGS scientists monitor patterns of land cover change over space and time at regional, nationalAuthorsE. Terrence Slonecker, Christopher Barnes, Krista Karstensen, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-SilvaEstuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change
Restoring the greater Everglades ecosystem of south Florida is arguably the largest ecosystem restoration effort to date. A critical goal is to return more natural patterns of flow through south Florida wetlands and into the estuaries, but development of realistic targets requires acknowledgement that ecosystems are constantly evolving and changing in response to a variety of natural and human-driAuthorsG.L. Wingard, J.W. Hudley, F.E. MarshallHydrology and Ecology of Freshwater Wetlands in Central Florida - A Primer
Freshwater wetlands are an integral part of central Florida, where thousands are distributed across the landscape. However, their relatively small size and vast numbers challenge efforts to characterize them collectively as a statewide water resource. Wetlands are a dominant landscape feature in Florida; in 1996, an estimated 11.4 million acres of wetlands occupied 29 percent of the area of the StAuthorsKim H. Haag, Terrie M. LeeGlobal change impacts on mangrove ecosystems
Mangroves are tropical/subtropical communities of primarily tree species that grow in the intertidal zone. These tidal forests are important coastal ecosystems that are valued for a variety of ecological and societal goods and services. Major local threats to mangrove ecosystems worldwide include clearcutting and trimming of forests for urban, agricultural, or industrial expansion; hydrological alAuthorsKaren L. McKeeNatural restoration basics for wetlands
Around the world, dams, diversions, and drainage systems reengineer rivers for navigation, farming, and urban development, and this has caused vast changes in the environmental conditions of the flood plains adjacent to these rivers (Middleton, 2002). Even though “flood pulses,” the periodic overflow of these rivers, were once the most important hydrological factor regulating all functions of theAuthorsBeth A. MiddletonNational water summary on wetland resources
This National Water Summary on Wetland Resources documents wetland resources in the United States. It presents an overview of the status of knowledge of wetlands at the present time-what they are, where they are found, why they are important, and the controversies surrounding them, with an emphasis on their hydrology. Wetland resources in each State, the District of Columbia (combined with Marylan - News