Plants growing in wetlands are capable of living in soils lacking oxygen for at least part of the growing season. Many people use the terms functions and values interchangeably when discussing wetlands, even though functions and values are different. Functions are the physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring in and making up an ecosystem. Since then, extensive losses have occurred, with many of the original wetlands drained and converted to farmland. Today, less than half of the nation's original wetlands remain.
Wetlands can be the first line of defense against flooding.
Like sponges, wetlands soak up rain and store excess floodwater runoff, then slowly release flood waters back into streams, lakes, and groundwater. The Importance of Wetlands Wetlands act like sponges, soaking up rain and storing floodwater runoff. One acre of wetlands can store more than 360,000 gallons of water if flooded to a depth of one foot. If you visit a wetland in the fall or spring, you could see hundreds or even thousands of them. These docile, unobtrusive salamanders live most of their lives underground, in tunnels and under debris.