Marsh

Freshwater marsh in Florida

In geography, a marsh is a type of wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water. A marsh is different from a swamp, which has a greater proportion of open water surface, and is generally deeper than a marsh. In the USA, the term swamp is used for wetland dominated by trees rather than grasses and low herbs.

The water of a marsh can be fresh, brackish or saline. Coastal marshes may be associated with estuaries and along waterways between coastal barrier islands and the inner coast. The estuarine marsh, or tidemarsh, is often based on soils consisting of sandy bottoms or bay muds. An example is the Tantramar Marsh of eastern Canada.

Below water decomposition processes often produce marsh gas, which may through self-ignition manifest as Will o' the wisps (aka. Jack-a-lanterns or spirites).

Marshes are critically important wildlife habitats, often serving as breeding grounds for a wide variety of animal life.

Constructed wetlands featuring surface-flow design are usually in the form of a marsh.

Images

• 

  Marsh in Point Pelee, Ontario, Canada

• 

  Marsh in Long Point, Ontario, Canada

See also

• Biodiversity Action Plan
• Fen
• Salt marsh
• Bog
• Swamp
• Mesopotamian Marshes

External links

• Marshes of the Lowcountry (South Carolina) — Beaufort County Library

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Marsh  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Marsh"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.