WETLANDS

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WETLANDS
   Zach Stone, Brandon Lindstrom, Gabe Dickerson,
David Batchelor    
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Problem Statement

• Overdevelopment appears to impact wetlands
  water quality. How exactly is it affecting it 
  what can we do to decrease the development impact?

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Effects of development in the spheres in wetlands

• Biosphere - develeopment affects the bioshpere by
  destroying plant life, water sources and animal
  habitats. Also when developing over wetland it
  brings in invasive species that take over the
  wetlands. Ex. - Phragmites

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Effects of development in the spheres in wetlands

• Hydrosphere Overdevelopment affects the
  hydrosphere in many different ways. Chemicals and
  fertilizers runoff into waterways, wetlands are
  covered up by dirt to build on and tourists come
  and leave trash in the areas.

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Effects of development in the spheres in wetlands

• Atmosphere Developing on wetlands destroys
  trees, which in turn, is causing the much needed
  oxygen that the trees produce to not be produced.
  Acid rain is also a destroyer of wetlands. Ferns
  are a good indicator to tell if you have acid
  rain.

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Effects of development in the spheres in wetlands

• Lithosphere - Development destroys the land that
  animals need to build their homes on, causing
  animals to overcrowd other homes and/or go into
  human homes. Farming also causes this. Ex. mice
  going into houses during winter when wheat is
  gone.

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Why Wetlands Are Important

• They provide a home for animals.
•  
• Trees and shrubs that help produce oxygen are
  there.
•  
• If wetlands were destroyed, the surrounding areas
  would end us losing the much needed food and
  oxygen that the wetlands provide.

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Hypothesis 

• Overdevelopment is destroying the homes of much
  of the wetland wildlife. If it isnt stopped there
  will be a large decrease in the population of
  these.

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What do we Know?

• Wetlands include SAV, animals, plants, and many
  trees
•  
•  
• There are many types of wetlands, such as swamps,
  marshes, bogs, and fens
•  
•  
• Wetlands such as swamps and bogs are being
  damaged by natural disasters.  
•  
•  

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What do we Know?

• Wetlands store runoff and provide habitat for
  animals
•  
• These development issues are causing animals to
  overcrowd other habitats. 
•  

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Common development issues

• Fertilizers from farming ,construction sites, and
  home owners
•  
• Construction is killing off trees, plants and
  animals. 
•  
• Animals are being run out of their homes and
  forced to overcrowd other wetlands.
•  

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Types of Wetlands

• Swamps - Depends on nutrient-rich ground water
  derived from mineral soils.

Great Dismal Swamp
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Types of Wetlands

• Marshes - Permanently or periodically flooded
  sites characterized by nutrient-rich water.

Located around beaches. Ex. Kitty Hawk or
Corolla
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Types of Wetlands 

• Bogs - Made by peat accumulation, usually
  dominated by moss. Bogs appear where the water at
  the ground surface is acidic. Bogs are generally
  formed by rain water

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Types of Wetlands

• Fens - Made by peat accumulation may be
  dominated by sedge, reed, shrub or forest. Fens
  are mostly fed by surface or groundwater.

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Common Wetland Plants
Common Juniper
Red Maple
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Common Wetland Plants
Coastal Plain Willow
Pickeral Weed
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Invasive Species

• Phragmites (The Common Reed) - A large perennial
  grass that is found in wetlands throughout the
  temperate and tropical regions around the world.

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Locations of Phragmites australis in North
Carolina.
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Invasive species

• Spartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass or
  Saltmarsh Cordgrass) - A perennial deciduous
  grass which is found in intertidal wetlands. It
  is commonly found in estuarine salt marshes 
• Spartina Patens (Salt Hay Grass) - A species of
  cordgrass. It is a hay-like grass that is found
  in the upper areas of brackish coastal
  saltmarshes.

Smooth Cordgrass
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Locations of Spartina alterniflora in North
Carolina
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Recommendations

• Go to local hearings and voice your opinion about
  development
•  
• Vote for board members that are enviroment minded
•  
• Support organizations that help protect wetlands
  from development

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Recommendations

• Support restoration practices instead of
  development on agriculture and wild lands
•  
•  Boycott businesses that destroy the land for
  their profit
•  
• Contact local board members, governors, and
  commissioners  that can change existing rules to
  help protect wetlands and increase preservation
  in critical areas

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Recommendations

• Purchasing Development Rights (PDR) - This allows
  for states to buy back land to help provide
  permanent land protection.
• Directing surface water runoff into swales and
  vegetated buffers to catch pollutants and filter
  them out, allowing for clean water to enter
  wetlands.

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Recommendations

• Make sure that instead of companies building on
  top of wetlands they move them to a different
  area.
• Help enforce laws that make sure companies can
  build within a five mile radius of wetlands. Ex.
  Camden landfill

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NC Coastal Wetlands
 
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References

• http//lakejuliana.tripod.com/id11.html / "Save
  Our Wetlands" / June 24, 2008
• http//academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/wetland/defin
  e/define.htm / "Types Of Wetlands" / June 24,
  2008
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/phragmites /
  "Phragmites" / June, 24, 2008
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/spartina_alterniflora
  / "Spartina Alterniflora" / June 24, 2008
• Tidal Creek Habitats book / Author "SC
  Seagrant" / June 26, 2008

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Our Group 

• Picture coming soon!