Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Wetlands

• Swamps
• Marshes
• Words to Know
• Bogs
• Wetland ecology
• Wetland destruction

Wetlands are low-lying ecosystems that are saturated with water at or close to the surface. (An ecosystem consists of all the animals, plants, and microorganisms that make up a particular community living in a certain environment.) The most common types of wetlands are swamps, marshes, and bogs. Wetlands provide habitats for an incredibly wide variety of plants and animals. They also are important because they absorb heavy rainfalls and prevent flooding. In addition, wetlands protect the ground water humans depend on for drinking by capturing and neutralizing surface pollutants.

However, wetlands are rapidly disappearing because they are being drained...