This second edition of this important and authoritative survey provides students and researchers with up-to-date and accessible information about the ecology of freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Prominent scholars help students understand both general concepts of different wetland types as well as complex topics related to these dynamic physical environments. Careful syntheses review wetland soils, hydrology, and geomorphology; abiotic constraints for wetland plants and animals; microbial ecology and biogeochemistry; development of wetland plant communities; wetland animal ecology; and carbon dynamics and ecosystem processes. In addition, contributors document wetland regulation, policy, and assessment in the US and provide a clear roadmap for adaptive management and restoration of wetlands. New material also includes an expanded review of the consequences for wetlands in a changing global environment. Ideally suited for wetlands ecology courses, Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands, Second Edition , includes updated content, enhanced images (many in color), and innovative pedagogical elements that guide students and interested readers through the current state of our wetlands. Praise for the First Edition The editors are to be highly commended for . . . the straightforward and honest writing style that continually weaves its way throughout this text. Mark W. Hester, Ecology Provides a comprehensive introduction to the great ecological breadth and complexity that wetlands exhibit, ranging from microbial process to biogeography and global climate. Wetlands A comprehensive and timely introduction to wetlands ecology . . . Would serve as an excellent textbook for classes focusing on wetlands, wetland ecology, and related classes where system ecology and function may be of interest. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas Praise for the First Edition “The editors are to be highly commended for . . . the straightforward and honest writing style that continually weaves its way throughout this text.”―Mark W. Hester, Ecology “Provides a comprehensive introduction to the great ecological breadth and complexity that wetlands exhibit, ranging from microbial process to biogeography and global climate.”― Wetlands “A comprehensive and timely introduction to wetlands ecology . . . Would serve as an excellent textbook for classes focusing on wetlands, wetland ecology, and related classes where system ecology and function may be of interest.”― Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas Darold P. Batzer is Professor of Entomology at the University of Georgia. He is the coeditor of several volumes, including Wetland Habitats of North America (UC Press), Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America, and Bioassessment and Management of North American Freshwater Wetlands. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Wetlands, the scholarly journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists, and he has taught courses in wetland ecology and aquatic ecology. Rebecca Sharitz is Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Georgia and coeditor of two books for the US Atomic Energy Commission. She has taught courses in wetland ecology. Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands By Darold P. Batzer, Rebecca R. Sharitz UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Copyright © 2014 The Regents of the University of California All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-520-27858-5 Contents CONTRIBUTORS, PREFACE, 1. Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands: An Introduction REBECCA R. SHARITZ, DAROLD P. BATZER, AND STEVEN C. PENNINGS, 2. Wetland Soils, Hydrology, and Geomorphology C. RHETT JACKSON, JAMES A. THOMPSON, AND RANDALL K. KOLKA, 3. Abiotic Constraints for Wetland Plants and Animals IRVING A. MENDELSSOHN, DAROLD P. BATZER, COURTNEY R. HOLT, AND SEAN A. GRAHAM, 4. Wetland Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry PAUL I. BOON, PETER C. POLLARD, AND DARREN RYDER, 5. Development of Wetland Plant Communities REBECCA R. SHARITZ AND STEVEN C. PENNINGS, 6. Wetland Animal Ecology DAROLD P. BATZER, ROBERT COOPER, AND SCOTT A. WISSINGER, 7. Carbon Dynamics and Ecosystem Processes SCOTT D. BRIDGHAM, 8. United States Wetland Regulation, Policy, and Assessment C. ANDREW COLE AND D. ERIC SOMERVILLE, 9. Wetland Restoration SUSAN M. GALATOWITSCH AND JOY B. ZEDLER, 10. Consequences for Wetlands of a Changing Global Environment ROBERT R. TWILLEY AND MARK M. BRINSON, LITERATURE CITED, INDEX, CHAPTER 1 Ecology of Freshwater and Estuarine Wetlands: An Introduction REBECCA R. SHARITZ, DAROLD P. BATZER, and STEVEN C. PENNINGS WHAT IS A WETLAND? WHY ARE WETLANDS IMPORTANT? CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED WETLANDS Wetlands with Predominantly Precipitation Inputs Wetlands with Predominately Groundwater Inputs Wetlands with Predominately Surface Water Inputs WETLAND LOSS AND DEGRADATION WHAT THIS BOOK COVERS WHAT IS A WETLAND? The study of wetland ecology can entail an issue t