They also stabilize shorelines by storing and gradually releasing floodwaters from rivers and oceans. The most important factor in a wetland ecosystem is water movement. Swamps have a relatively constant water table that is either standing or gently moving. Per acre the biodiversity of a swamp is equal to that of a tropical rain forest. Red maples, cypress, and water-gum mark these wetlands.
Bogs are damp, cool areas that accumulate dead plant material faster than it can decay.
This produces a stagnant, acidic, nutrient-poor ecosystem filled with peat and sphagnum moss. Because of the decaying material bogs consume a very large amount of carbon dioxide even though they only cover about one percent of the earth's surface. Prairie potholes are freshwater marshes in the glacial basins of North America that provide food, rest, and breeding grounds to many migratorial birds. They support sedges, cattails, and hardy grasses. And estuaries are 3 inland marine or river waterways that are among the most naturally fertile habitats in the world.