It is important that the area be analyzed in order to determine exactly what will be gained and lost if the land is permanently altered due to this proposition. Wetlands are important in that they provide a place to live for over 5,000 species of plants, over 190 species of amphibians, and a third of all the bird species in the United States. Because wetlands have such dense vegetation, they are able to filter out many impurities and toxins in ground water. 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.