BIOMES OF THE EARTH WETLANDS Peter D Moore Illustrations by Richard Garratt Wetlands Copyright © 2006 by Peter D Moore All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher For information contact: Chelsea House An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 ISBN-13: 978-0-8160-5324-7 ISBN-10: 0-8160-5324-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Moore, Peter D Wetlands / Peter D Moore ; illustrations by Richard Garratt p cm.—(Biomes of the Earth) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0-8160-5324-3 Wetland ecology—Juvenile literature Wetlands—Juvenile literature I Garratt, Richard, ill II Title III Series QH541.5.M3M664 2006 577.68—dc22 2005009085 Chelsea House books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755 You can find Chelsea House on the World Wide Web at http://www.chelseahouse.com Text design by David Strelecky Cover design by Cathy Rincon Illustrations by Richard Garratt Photo research by Elizabeth H Oakes Printed in Hong Kong CP Hermitage 10 This book is printed on acid-free paper From Peter Moore: To Eunice, Helen, and Caroline From Richard Garratt: To Chantal, who has lightened my darkness CONTENTS Preface Acknowledgments Introduction ix xiii xv CHAPTER GEOGRAPHY OF WETLANDS The water cycle Where on Earth are the wetlands? Wetland distribution in the landscape Different kinds of wetlands Changing wetlands Storms and tsunamis Conclusions 1 10 37 38 41 CHAPTER GEOLOGY OF WETLANDS Geology and wetland landscapes Geology and water chemistry Acidity and pH Eutrophication Wetland sediments Stories in the sediments Pollen grains Dating the sediments Geology of the ancient wetlands Conclusions 42 42 46 46 49 51 56 60 62 64 66 CHAPTER THE WETLAND ECOSYSTEM What is an ecosystem? How wetlands work? 68 68 71 Food webs and energy flow Decomposition The entry and exit of nutrients Nutrient cycling in wetlands Conclusions 74 79 82 89 91 CHAPTER WETLAND BIODIVERSITY Living in the wet Plants of the wetlands Microscopic life Invertebrates of the wetland Fish, amphibians, and reptiles Birds of the wetlands Mammals of the wetlands Conclusions 93 93 98 105 108 111 116 123 126 CHAPTER WETLANDS IN HISTORY Prehistoric people of the wetlands Modern wetland people Wetlands and disease Exploration of the wetlands Wetlands in literature and art Conclusions 129 129 134 135 139 148 152 CHAPTER USES OF WETLANDS Water conservation and flood control Wetlands as a food source Wetlands and water treatment Wetlands as carbon sinks Wetlands and recreation Peat exploitation Wetland drainage for agriculture and forestry Conclusions 153 153 157 159 160 162 165 167 169 CHAPTER THE FUTURE OF WETLANDS Rates of wetland loss Wetland pollution Climate change and wetlands Wetland rehabilitation and conservation Conclusions 171 171 173 176 179 182 Glossary Bibliography and further reading Web sites Index 185 199 203 205 PREFACE Earth is a remarkable planet There is nowhere else in our solar system where life can survive in such a great diversity of forms As far as we can currently tell, our planet is unique Isolated in the barren emptiness of space, here on Earth we are surrounded by a remarkable range of living things, from the bacteria that inhabit the soil to the great whales that migrate through the oceans, from the giant redwood trees of the Pacific forests to the mosses that grow on urban sidewalks In a desolate universe, Earth teems with life in a bewildering variety of forms One of the most exciting things about the Earth is the rich pattern of plant and animal communities that exists over its surface The hot, wet conditions of the equatorial regions support dense rain forests with tall canopies occupied by a wealth of animals, some of which may never touch the ground The cold, bleak conditions of the polar regions, on the other hand, sustain a much lower variety of species of plants and animals, but those that survive under such harsh conditions have remarkable adaptations to their testing environment Between these two extremes lie many other types of complex communities, each well suited to the particular conditions of climate prevailing in its region Scientists call these communities biomes The different biomes of the world have much in common with one another Each has a plant component, which is responsible for trapping the energy of the Sun and making it available to the other members of the community Each has grazing animals, both large and small, that take advantage of the store of energy found within the bodies of plants Then come the predators, ranging from tiny spiders that feed upon even smaller insects to tigers, eagles, and polar bears that survive by preying upon large animals All of these living things IX ... available to the other members of the community Each has grazing animals, both large and small, that take advantage of the store of energy found within the bodies of plants Then come the predators,... understanding the wealth of the Earth’s biodiversity, the factors that influence it, and the future dangers that face the planet and our species Is there any practical value in studying the biomes of the. .. more in the way of the Earth’s resources, it is important to look closely at the natural biomes of the world that INTRODUCTION are, after all, our support system Biomes of the Earth is a set of books