Wetlands Wetlands are composed of lakes, marshes, swamps and lagoons, and according to the definition in the Ramsar Agreement include areas of water which do not exceed six metres in depth at low tide. These areas are a habitat for fewer plant species than the flora regions described above, but they make up for this in productivity. When vegetation groups are classed according to the organic material produced by plants as a result of photosynthesis, tropical rain forests and wetlands rank highest. In both cases the amount of organic matter produced per square meter per day is 20 grams dry weight. This is three times the average for arable land of 6.5 grams per square meter, and represents an important indicator of the value of wetlands.
Turkey has no tropical forest, but nineteen Grade A wetlands according to international definition.
Preserving these areas in accordance with this convention is not only Turkey's responsibility, but a matter of ecological interest. Reeds, rushes, buttercups, water mint, irises, waterlilies, tamarisks and hemlocks are among the common water plants of the wetlands. Rush and reed beds often cover large areas of shallow lakes, as in the case of Aksehir, Eber, Karamuk, Hotamis and Sultan Sazligi marshes. The productivity of the wetlands is not confined to visible plants, but is also a function of the pyhto planktons, algaes, lesser duckweed and other water weeds which produce organic materials and form the vital first link in the food chain, followed by fish, birds and human beings. Wetlands are extremely valuable ecosystems, as shown by the flocks of birds which inhabit them.