When you see a swamp, you may think it's gross and unclean. Swamps aren't the most attractive body of water, but they are very important. There are a great number of swamps in the U.S., but they are disappearing very quickly. Swamps prevent erosion and flooding. Without swamps we would have terrible problems with both of these. Swamps are an important part of our world and we need to take care of them.
A swamp is a shallow body of water, usually containing abundant plant growth. The Everglades is a good example of a swamp area. During periods of heavy rainfall, a swamp acts like a sponge. It soaks up extra rain and snow melt. There are two different
kinds of swamps, wooded swamps and shrub swamps. Wooded swamps are forested woodlands that usually contain mature conifers and lowland hardwood trees. Wooded swamps are important for storm water and flood water. |
They also provide homes for wildlife, such as white-tailed deer, fur bearers, song birds, ruffled grouse, owls, and amphibians. These animals all live in our part of the country.
Shrub swamps are wetland plant communities that usually contain woody vegetation less than 20 feet in height. They are on mucky grounds. They provide a home for many different song birds, ruffed grouse, and small mammals. Ring-necked pheasants, eastern cotton-tails, and white tailed deer may stay there for winter habitats.
Swamps also provide a recreational area for people. Many people hunt, trap, and bird watch at swamps. There is a great variety of animals that live in the swamp areas. if you don't enjoy hunting, bird watching is a great at swamps. |
Some people even have picnics by swamps, too.
Even though swamps are very valuable, they still don't look that great. Lakes often look clean and not too weedy, but swamps
are. Swamps, being shallow, have a very muddy floor and that's why they always look so dirty. When mud gets stirred up, it makes teh whole swamp look dirty. There are also a lot of weeds in swamps. the weeds grow so much easier when the sun can hit them. Since swamps are so shallow, the sun hits the bottom and the weeds grow.
There is an estimated 5,353,000 acres of swamps and need to take care of them. Too many people throw trash in swamps because they don't realize how they help us. We must all take care of our swamps better and realize their value. |
