Why are wetlands important?
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
Filter Total Items: 13
Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana Trends 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...
Authors
Julie Bernier
Consequences of land use and land cover change Consequences 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...
Authors
E. Terrence Slonecker, Christopher Barnes, Krista Karstensen, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva
Estuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change Estuaries 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...
Authors
G.L. Wingard, J.W. Hudley, F.E. Marshall
Hydrology and Ecology of Freshwater Wetlands in Central Florida - A Primer Hydrology 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...
Authors
Kim H. Haag, Terrie M. Lee
Global change impacts on mangrove ecosystems Global 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...
Authors
Karen L. McKee
Natural restoration basics for wetlands Natural 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...
Authors
Beth A. Middleton
Filter Total Items: 19
Related
Filter Total Items: 13
Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana Trends 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...
Authors
Julie Bernier
Consequences of land use and land cover change Consequences 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...
Authors
E. Terrence Slonecker, Christopher Barnes, Krista Karstensen, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva
Estuaries of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Laboratories of Long-term Change Estuaries 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...
Authors
G.L. Wingard, J.W. Hudley, F.E. Marshall
Hydrology and Ecology of Freshwater Wetlands in Central Florida - A Primer Hydrology 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...
Authors
Kim H. Haag, Terrie M. Lee
Global change impacts on mangrove ecosystems Global 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...
Authors
Karen L. McKee
Natural restoration basics for wetlands Natural 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...
Authors
Beth A. Middleton
Filter Total Items: 19
Updated Date: February 23, 2026