Hydrosphere Contents

5. Aquatic Habitats

The soils in wetlands are an intermediate environment between land and aquatic habitats

The common features of a wetland are the presence of a very high water table, anaerobic soil conditions and a high peat content. These attributes encourage a great biodiversity of wildlife, but also make wetlands attractive to agricultural expansion and peat extraction for use as a fuel and fertiliser. In order to protect wetland biodiversity many wetland areas are designated as conservation areas or sites of special scientific interest. The importance of wetland habitats is illustrated by the fact that about two thirds of all designated conservation areas are wetlands.

A wetland habitat

What are three typical characteristics of wetlands?