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.
Wetlands are an important part of the ecological system, providing a myriad of benefits for people, wildlife, and the environment. They also serve as "nature's kidneys," filtering out pollutants from surface water. A new ...
Environment
Oct 28, 2025
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As ecosystem engineers, beavers build resilience into the landscape. Above ground, we can see changes wrought by beaver ponds such as increases in biodiversity and water retention. But UConn Department of Earth Sciences researcher ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 27, 2025
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More than half of Tasmania's largest wetland system in kanamaluka / the Tamar River has vanished since European settlement, new research from the University of Tasmania has revealed.
Earth Sciences
Oct 24, 2025
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Peatlands make up just 3% of Earth's land surface but store more than 30% of the world's soil carbon, preserving organic matter and sequestering its carbon for tens of thousands of years. A new study sounds the alarm that ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 23, 2025
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Above Missouri's wetlands, a drone quietly hums above flocks of migratory water birds, its camera capturing the ripples of movement below. With this technology, University of Missouri researchers are redefining how wildlife ...
Ecology
Oct 22, 2025
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Peatlands are among the world's most important yet underappreciated ecosystems. They are a type of wetland that covers a small fraction of Earth's land, while containing the most carbon-rich soils in the world.
Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2025
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Wetlands act as nature's kidneys: They trap sediments, absorb excess nutrients and turn pollutants into less harmful substances. Now, the list of pollutants wetland plants can remove includes per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ...
Environment
Oct 14, 2025
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Botswana's fertile Okavango Delta is one of the last remaining high-biodiversity ecosystems in the world, home to cheetahs, African wild dogs, baobab trees, crocodiles, termites and owls that catch fish. Roughly the size ...
Ecology
Oct 13, 2025
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Swansea University has led an international team of marine scientists and practitioners—spanning 18 countries—in calling for urgent reform to the licensing and regulation of marine and coastal restoration projects.
Ecology
Oct 2, 2025
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A new international study has endorsed artificial floating wetlands as a sustainable and cost-effective solution for improving water quality in rivers, lakes and wastewater systems.
Environment
Oct 1, 2025
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