Abstract
Ephemeral wetlands (= EW) are habitats with seasonal water body and ephemeral plant cover. Subtypes are shorelines of permanent rivers with fluctuating water level, seasonal pools in climates with variations in rainfall and the ephemeral flush habitat on inselbergs. EW offer extreme environments, shifting from flooding to water shortage. Short-lived annuals, dwarfish perennials and resurrections plants find a niche there. A permanent seed bank (and egg bank for crustaceans) buffers the year-to-year variability. Strong selective forces result in evolutionary processes like convergence, niche constancy, endemism and vicariance of taxa. By sheltering rare and endemic species, EW are jewels of biodiversity.
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