ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC - WETLAND

SUBMITTED BY
RAGI CHANDRAN
CANDIDATE NUMBER 13350025
NATURAL SCIENCE
SUBMITTED TO JIBI MISS




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INDEX

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CONTENT

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TOPIC
INTRODUCTION
IMPORTANCE OF WETLANDS
WETLANDS AND WATER
PURIFICATION
WETLAND CONSERVATION
WETLAND FUNCTIONS
STORAGE
WILDLIFE HABITAT
REFERENCE




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TOPIC
WETLAND




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INTRODUCTION
Natural Resources occur naturally within environments that
exist relatively undisturbed by humanity in a natural form. A natural
resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and
geodiversity existent in various ecosystem. Natural resource is divided
from environmental. The examples of natural resource are air, wind,
lake,river ,wetland, rock and minerals.
Wetlands are places where there is shallow water or very
soggy soil at least part of the time .Plants that grow their love having
wet feet. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
or Wetlands Reserve Program, describes wetlands as those areas that
are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency
and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal
circumstances do support , a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted
for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps,
marshes and similar areas. Wetlands vary widely in their salinity levels,
climatic zones, supported floor, surrounding geography, whether they
are coastal or inland.




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IMPORTANTS OF WETLAND
Wetlands prevent flooding by holding water much like a
sponge. By doing so wetlands help Keep River levels normal and filter
and purify the surface water. Wetlands accept water during storms and
whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands
slowly release water. Wetlands also release vegetative matter Ion
Rivers, which helps feed fish in the rivers. Wetlands help to counter
balance the human effect on rivers by rejuvenating them and
surrounding ecosystems. Many animals that live in other habitats use
wetlands for migration or reproduction. For example, herons nest in
large old trees, but need shallow areas in order to wade for fish and
aquatic life. Amphibians often forage in upland areas but return to the
water to mate and reproduce. Wetlands and kidneys both help control
water flow and cleanse the system.
Erosion Control
Looking at pictures of deltas, one can tell that rivers deposit a
lot of sediment into the ocean. The sediment is form top soil that has
been eroded and washed away. Emergents are able to radically slow
the flow of water. As a result, they counter the erosive forces of moving
water along takes and rivers, and enrolling agricultural landscapes
.Erosion efforts in aquatic areas often include the planting of wetlands
plants.


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Wetlands and Water Purification
Wetlands also clean the water by filtering out sedimentation,
decomposing vegetative matter and converting chemicals into useable
form.
The ability of wetlands to recycle nutrients makes them critical in
the overall functioning of earth. No other ecosystem is as productive,
nor as unique in this conversion process. In some places artificial
wetlands were developed solely for the purpose of water purification.











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Wetland Conservation
Wetland Conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving
areas where exists at or near the Earths surface, such
asswamps,marshes and bogs. Wetlands cover at least six per cent of
the Earth and have become a focal issue for conservation due to the
ecosystem services the provide. More than three billion people, around
half the Worlds population ,obtain their basic water needs from inland
freshwater wetlands.
Fisheries are also can extremely important source of protein
and income in many wetlands. According to the United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization, the total catch from inland waters was
8.7 million metric tons in 2002. In Addition to food, wetlands supply
fibre,fuel and medicinal plants. They also provide valuable ecosystems
for birds and other aquatic creature, help reduce the damaging impact
of floods, control pollution and regulate the climate.





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Wetland functions
The main functions performed by wetlands are: water filtration,
water storage, biological productivity, and provide habitat for wildlife.
Filtration
Wetlands aid in water filtration by removing excess
nutrients, slowing the water allowing particulates to settle out of the
water which can then be absorbed into plant roots .Studies have shown
that up to 92% phosphorus and 95% of nitrogen can be removed from
passing water through a wetland. Wetland plants have even been
found with accumulations of heavy metals more than 100,000 times
that of the surrounding waters concentration. Without these functions,
the waterways would continually increase their nutrient and pollutant
load ,leading to an isolated deposit of high concentrations further down
the line .An example of such a situation is the Mississippi Rivers dead
zone , an area where nutrient excess has led to large amounts of
surface algae, which use up the oxygen and create hypoxic conditions.
Wetlands can even filter out and absorb harmful bacteria from the
water. Their complex food chain hosts various microbes and bacteria,
which invertebrates feed on. These invertebrates can filter up to 90 %
of bacteria out of the water this way.

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storage
Wetland can store approximately 1-15 million gallons of
floodwater per acre. Storing and slowing water, wetland allow
groundwater to be recharged and combining the ability of wetland to
store and slow down water with their ability to filter out sediments,
wetland serve as strong erosion buffers.
Biological productivity
Wetland ability to absorb nutrients, they are able to be highly
biologically productive .Freshwater wetland are even comparable to
tropical rainforests in plant productivity. Their ability to efficiently
create biomass may become important to the development of
alternative energy sources. While wetland only covers around 5% of the
Conterminous United States land surface, they support 31% of the
plant species.






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Wildlife Habitat
Wildlife habitat is important not only for the conservation of
species but also for a number of recreational opportunities. As a
conservation purpose, wildlife habitat is managed for maintaining and
using the resources in sustainable manner. Some parts of the area are
wetland managed for providing habitat of migratory birds, such as
waterfowl and songbird. The million United States hunters generate
in excess of $50 billion annually in economic activity.
Conclusion
Wetland is a land area that is saturated with
water .Wetlands typically are covered with shallow water, they are
often located at Juncturiesof Rivers and stream. Well chosen protect can
help students to better understands the importance of wetland ecology.
To develop an awareness of Wetland science issues locally, nationally
and internationally. To promote scientifically-sound practices of
Wetland conservation. To provide education on the importance of
Wetland environments to the UWSP(Students For Wetland Awareness,
Management, and Protection), Stevens Point and surrounding
communities. To establish a common meeting ground for students,
staff, alumni and the scientific community concerned with any aspect
regarding wetlands, thereby unifying all related disciplines to holistically
create greater understanding of wetland environments.

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REFERENCE
1. Mishra , Shubharata R.$ Yada , P.R(2004). Environmental Ecology
New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House.
2. Misra , S.P $ Pandey, S.N (2011).Environment and Ecology .New
Delhi : Ane Books Pvt. Ltd.
3. Sharma, R.A (2008).Environmental Education : Meerut: R. Lall
Books Depot.
4. Singh , Lalan Kumar $ Kumar, Aravind (2006).Advanced Ecology
.New Delhi: Daya Publishing House