Ch. 2— Wetland Types • 29 



Figure 2.— Cross-Sectional Diagram of New England-Type Salt Marsh 

 (from Miller and Egler, 1950) 



Tidal marsh ■ 



Spartina Alterniflora 

 lower border 



Normal 

 high tide 

 Normal 

 low tide 



Diagrammatic cross-section of the upland-to-bay sequence, showing the characteristics of the major vegetational units. Vertical scale much 

 exaggerated. 



SOURCE: H, T. Odum, B J. Copeland, and E. A. McMahan, Coastal Ecological Systems of ttte United Stales, vol. 2 (Wastiington, D.C.: The Conservation Foundation, 1974). 



MAJOR TYPES OF WETLANDS AND 

 CLOSELY RELATED HABITATS 



Although FWS has developed a comprehensive 

 system for classifying wetlands, for the purposes of 

 this general discussion, OTA has distinguished be- 

 tween very broad types of wetlands using more ver- 

 nacular terms. The primary factors distinguishing 

 these types of wetlands are: 



1. location (coastal or inland), 



2. salinity (freshwater or saltwater), and 



3. dominant vegetation (marsh, swamp, or bog). 



Inland Freshwater Marshes 



Inland freshwater marshes may occur at any lati- 

 tude but are not common at very high altitudes. 

 Their water depths generally range from 6 inches 

 to 3 feet. Marsh vegetation is characterized by soft- 

 stemmed plants, grasses, sedges, and rushes that 

 emerge above the surface of the marsh. They in- 

 clude such common plants as water lilies, cattails, 

 reeds, arrowheads, pickerel weed, smartweed, and 

 wild rice (3). 



