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Article: Wetlands
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- Plant Sciences
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Wetlands
Wetlands are habitats characterized by saturated (waterlogged) soils for at least part of the year and plants that are adapted to grow under wet conditions. They may be completely covered by water or the water may be just below the ground. There are many different types of wetlands, such as swamps (wetlands dominated by trees), marshes (wetlands dominated by nonwoody plants such as grasses and sedges), wet meadows, bogs, fens, flood-plain forests, lakes, and ponds.
Wetlands are to a large extent the product of the topography of the land. They develop wherever there is a depression in the land that brings the
water table
(groundwater) close to or even above ground. The type of ...