A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique hydric soil. Wetlands play a number of functions, including water purification, water storage, processing of carbon and other nutrients, stabilization of shorelines, and support of plants and animals. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Whether any individual wetland performs these functions, and the degree to which it performs them, depends on characteristics of that wetland and the lands and waters near it. Methods for rapidly assessing these functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed in many regions and have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions and the ecosystem services some wetlands provide.
The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, Dufferin County, through the Niagara Escarpment and the Minesing Wetlands, the latter a wetland of international significance, and empties into Nottawasaga Bay, an inlet of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, at the town of Wasaga Beach, Simcoe County.
The Nariva Swamp is the largest freshwater wetland in Trinidad and Tobago and has been designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. The swamp is located on the east coast of Trinidad, immediately inland from the Manzanilla Bay through Biche and covers over 60 square kilometres (23 mi2). The Nariva Swamp is extremely biodiverse. It is home to 45 mammal species, 39 reptile species, 33 fish species, 204 bird species, 19 frog species, 213 insect species and 15 mollusc species. All this contained in just 60 square kilometers.
Pottageville is an unincorporated community located in northeastern King Township, in Ontario, Canada. It is near Schomberg. It is named for one of its early settlers, Edward Pottage.
The Oak Ridges Moraine lies in Southern Ontario, Canada. It contains the headwaters of sixty-five rivers and streams. It has a wide diversity of woodlands, wetlands, watercourses, kettle lakes, kettle bogs, and significant flora and fauna. It is one of the few remaining continuous green corridors in southern Ontario: it remains thirty percent forested and is one of the last refuges for forest birds in all of southern Ontario.
Hay Swamp is a provincially significant wetland complex, 1839 hectares in size, located in parts of the central land areas of the municipalities of Bluewater and South Huron, in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Approximately 13 kilometers (8.1 mi) in length and 2 kilometers (1.2 mi) in width, at its widest point; it consists of 15 extensively forested individual wetlands, situated on either side, of sections of both the upper drainage of the Ausable River and its tributary, Black Creek.
The Zapata Swamp is located on the Zapata Peninsula in the southern Matanzas Province of Cuba, in the municipality of Ciénaga de Zapata. It is located less than 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast of Havana.
Cold Creek Conservation Area, usually Cold Creek, is an ecologically diverse protected Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in south-central Ontario, Canada. The 190-hectare (470-acre) conservation area was opened on 20 June 1962 by Wilf Spooner and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It is located on the western end of King Township, overlapping the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Government of Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources classifies the area as a provincially significant Area of Natural and Scientific Interest for its "provincially or regionally significant representative ecological features". The area was also a site classified for the International Biological Program. The Life Science area, known as Cold Creek Swamp, is composed of a swamp and forest.
There are numerous natural areas in King, a township in Ontario, Canada. These areas are zones officially designated by the Government of Ontario that are within the township and exhibit provincially or regionally significant features representative of the region. The list of zones is defined and maintained by the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources Natural Heritage Information Centre.
Ludaš or Ludoš Lake is a shallow lake in the province of Vojvodina in northern Serbia, near Subotica. It is a special natural preserve and, since 1977, designated as a swamp area of international significance by the Ramsar Convention. The name of the lake stems from Hungarian "ludas", meaning goose.
Matchedash Bay is a bay and Ramsar wetland in Simcoe County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is the "final inland extension of Severn Sound" on Lake Huron's Georgian Bay, and is "situated at the interface between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield ". It exhibits geologically unique features at the junction of the Canadian Shield and southern Ontario limestone. Wetland habitats in Matchedash Bay are varied, and include swamps, fens, cattail marshes, wet meadows and beaver ponds. Other features include "permanent freshwater lakes; upland hardwood forest, agricultural lands, native grass meadows and a unique, coniferous wetland forest".
Southern James Bay is a coastal wetland complex in northeastern Ontario, Canada bordering James Bay and Quebec. It was designated as a wetland of international importance via the Ramsar Convention on May 27, 1987. The shallow waters of the James Bay region represent an important late autumn staging area for migratory, Arctic-breeding waterbirds.
Kanjli Wetland, a man made Wetland, which subsumes the Kanjli Lake, located in the Kapurthala district of Punjab state in India, was created in 1870 by constructing the headworks across the perennial Bien River, a tributary of the Beas River to provide irrigation facilities to the hinterland. The rich biodiversity of the wetland comprising aquatic, mesophytic and terrestrial flora and fauna including some important species of plants and animals was recognized internationally by the Ramsar Convention in 2002 by designating the Kanjli Lake in the List of Wetlands of International Importance. In this context, it is reported that the Punjab State which has 14 wetlands covering an area of 225.76 km2 has the unique position of three of its wetlands viz., the Kanjli Wetland covering an area of 490 ha of which the Kanjli Lake water spread is 184 ha), the Harike Wetland and the Ropar Wetland chosen by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoE&F), Government of India for their conservation and management are now also included in the Ramsar list covering a total area of 5650 ha; Kanjli is upstream of Harike wetland located in the Beas river basin while the Ropar wetland is in the Roopnagar district.
Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve is a parcel of protected wetland property located approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Vienna in Johnson County, Illinois. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972. As part of the Cache River basin, it is classified as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Gotjawal Forest is a naturally formed forest located on the middle slopes of Halla Mountain, Jeju Island in South Korea. It covers the rocky area of ʻaʻā on Jeju Island off the southwestern coast of South Korea. Due to the geographical feature, the region remains largely undisturbed by people. The Gotjawal Forest is an enclave of the Southern Korea evergreen forests ecoregion, and is a favorite place of the Jeju locals.
Odaesan is located in the Taebaek Mountains, the longest mountain range in Korea. It is named Odaesan because it has five big mountain peaks. Odaesan National Park Wetlands has an area of 1.7 hectares and consists of three small fens: Jilmoeneup, Sohwangbyeongsanneup, and Jogaedongneup. This site was registered as a Ramsar Wetlands on October 13, 2008, at the 10th Ramsar Convention.
The Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands are a group of two principally freshwater swamps, totalling 261 hectares, lying in the suburbs of Aspendale, Edithvale, Chelsea Heights, and Seaford in south-eastern Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Together they form the Edithvale-Seaford Wetlands Ramsar Site. With the nearby Eastern Treatment Plant, they form the Carrum Wetlands Important Bird Area.
The Rugezi Marsh is a protected area in Rwanda, covering 6,735 hectares. The wetland is one of headwaters of the Nile, situated in the Northern Province within the Buberuka Highlands. At 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), the marsh is a high altitude peat bog. Rugezi developed from an accumulation of organic materials within a quartzite rock-trapping water depression. In its natural state, Rugezi has been playing a significant ecological, hydrological, socio-economical, historic, and recreational role in Rwanda. It is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) recognized by the BirdLife International in 2001, and is reported to be the habitat of 43 species of birds within and in the surrounding areas of the marsh; the area of IBA is identified as ha8,500 hectares. The specific species of Grauer's swamp warbler and white-winged swamp warbler living together is reported as "unusual" by BirdLife International.
Muraka Nature Reserve is a nature reserve situated in eastern Estonia, in Ida-Viru County.
