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Salix, the willows, are native to many areas throughout the world, usually in riparian ecosystems. Salvinia natans, the floating fern, is native in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and introduced elsewhere. Sedges are a large family of grass-like plants with many species that form a characteristic part of wetland vegetation.
An ecological definition of a wetland is "an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic and aerobic processes, which, in turn, forces the biota, particularly rooted plants, to adapt to flooding".
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil.
Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. [19] The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. [18] The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, marshes are wetlands dominated by emergent herbaceous vegetation such as reeds, cattails and sedges.
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants. [1] More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying meadows that require draining and embanked polderlands are also referred to as marshes or marshland.
A freshwater marsh is a non-forested marsh wetland that contains shallow fresh water, and is continuously or frequently flooded. [1] [2] Freshwater marshes primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants.
The assortment of riparian zone trees varies from those of wetlands and typically consists of plants that are either emergent aquatic plants, or herbs, trees and shrubs that thrive in proximity to water. [46] In South Africa's fynbos biome, Riparian ecosystem are heavily invaded by alien woody plants. [47]
Wetlands within this category include inland marshes and swamps as well as bogs, fens, pocosins, tundra and floodplains. According to the Cowardin classification system, palustrine wetlands can also be considered the area on the side of a river or a lake, as long as they are covered by vegetation such as trees, shrubs, and emergent plants. [1]