Wetland ecosystems are transitional habitats between terrestrial and aquatic systems that are characterized by periodic or permanent inundation, hydric soils, and vegetation adapted to water-saturated conditions. They encompass diverse types such as marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens, each defined by hydrological regime, nutrient status, and dominant plant functional groups. Wetlands exhibit high biogeochemical activity, particularly in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling, driven by redox gradients and microbial processes under anoxic or fluctuating oxygen conditions. They support high biodiversity, act as sinks or sources of greenhouse gases (e.g., CO₂, CH₄, N₂O), regulate hydrology via water storage and attenuation, and are focal systems in research on ecosystem services, climate feedbacks, and landscape connectivity.
Research has opened the door for coastal wetland restoration projects to potentially earn tradable biodiversity certificates.
Ecology
Sep 29, 2025
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Illinois once harbored more than 8 million acres of wetlands. By the 1980s, all but 1.2 million wetland acres had been lost, filled in for development or drained to make way for agriculture.
Plants & Animals
Sep 23, 2025
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Wetland ecosystems play a crucial role in the global nitrogen cycle, helping to reduce nitrogen pollution. While plant diversity is known to influence ecosystem function, the exact mechanisms linking it to nitrogen retention ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 22, 2025
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Once a haven for flamingos, sturgeon and thousands of seals, fast-receding waters are turning the northern coast of the Caspian Sea into barren stretches of dry sand. In some places, the sea has retreated more than 50km. ...
Environment
Sep 20, 2025
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Between a third and half of all soil carbon on Earth is stored in peatlands, says Tom and Marie Patton Distinguished Professor Joel Kostka. These wetlands—formed from layers and layers of decaying plant matter—span from the ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 18, 2025
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Wetlands in Hampton Roads are an important part of the ecosystem, and a new study attempts to quantify their worth to the community by calculating a monetary value.
Ecology
Sep 16, 2025
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Freshwater tidal marshes, critical for wildlife and coastal protection, are now serving as microplastic catch basins, according to a team of researchers at Penn State. They recently found that these marshes trap large amounts ...
Environment
Sep 15, 2025
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Despite their importance to water security and their legal protection, diffuse seeps—which are primarily responsible for the formation of wetlands in Brazil's Cerrado savanna biome—continue to be systematically neglected ...
Ecology
Sep 9, 2025
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A long-term study spanning more than 50 years illustrates how the beavers that have returned to the Evo region in southern Finland have increased habitat biodiversity. This speaks to their significant role as ecosystem engineers, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 5, 2025
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University of Toledo environmental researchers trooped through the woods and wetlands of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge for a week in early June. Their mission? To outfit an approximately 16-acre site with nearly 300 ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 3, 2025
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