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Atchafalaya Basin. The wetlands of Louisiana are water-saturated coastal and swamp regions of southern Louisiana, often called "Bayou".. The Louisiana coastal zone stretches from the border of Texas to the Mississippi line [1] and comprises two wetland-dominated ecosystems, the Deltaic Plain of the Mississippi River (unit 1, 2, and 3) and the closely linked Chenier Plain (unit 4). [2]
Bayou Corne in Louisiana, October 2010. In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou (/ ˈ b aɪ. uː, ˈ b aɪ. oʊ /) [1] is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek.
The word palustrine comes from the Latin word palus or marsh. [2] 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 ...
A mire is distinguished from a swamp by its lack of a forest canopy (though some bogs may support limited tree or bush growth, mires are dominated by grass and mosses), and from a marsh by its water nutrients and distribution (marshes are characterized by nutrient-rich stagnant or slow-moving waters; mire waters are located mostly below the ...
There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog, and fen (bogs and fens being types of peatlands or mires). Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types. [1] Sub-types include mangrove forests, carrs, pocosins, floodplains, [1] peatlands, vernal pools, sinks, and many others. [22]
The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp (/ ə ˌ tʃ æ f ə ˈ l aɪ ə /; Louisiana French: Atchafalaya, [atʃafalaˈja]), is the largest wetland and swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana , it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge.
Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas." [1] [2] [3] Wetlands can be valued in terms of their contributions to ecological, economic and social systems. Wetlands service these systems through multiple processes including water filtration, water storage and biological productivity. [4]
The main types of intertidal wetlands are mudflats (e.g., mangrove swamps) and salt marshes. The mangrove swamps are encountered along tropical shores and are characterized by tree vegetation, while salt marshes are mostly found in temperate zones and are mostly grass ecosystems. [1] Intertidal wetlands are commonly encountered in most estuaries.