The word Wetland describes areas that are not open water and not dry land. The term encompasses marshes, swamps, bogs, wet meadows, and the transitional areas between dry land and water along the edges of streams, rivers, and lakes. Some areas can be wetlands without appearing wet year round. An area may seem dry, and surface water may only be visible for only a short time, making it hard to identify as a wetland.
Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world.
They produce more biomass per year than any other ecosystem. This means that more growth takes place and more nutrients are captured and converted into useful forms in wetlands than anywhere else. This amazing growth and production gives them the ability to feed and shelter many plants and animals. They can be compared to tropical rain forests and coral reefs in the diversity of species they support. Over half of the wetlands in the lower 48 States were lost between the late 1700s and the mid-1980s.