Wetlands Ecosystems

Abstract

The biological diversity of wetlands, or wetland biodiversity, encompasses the immense variety of life supported by the high number of different types of wetlands occurring worldwide. This chapter describes the diversity of wetland ecosystems occurring across major geographic regions, and the diversity of plant and animal species found within particular types of wetlands, including factors believed to control observed patterns in species diversity. The functional diversity of wetlands is discussed at the organismal level (i.e., in terms of various adaptations of plants and animals to the wetland environment), because these adaptations often allow a relatively large number of species to coexist within a wetland. The chapter also identifies threats to wetland diversity and discusses methods of managing to reverse trends in the loss of wetland diversity. Examples and data are drawn primarily from North America, with some reference to wetlands on other continents.