Swamp

The Pantanal, in Brazil, is the largest wetland in the world.

The Esteros del Iberá, in the province of Corrientes, in Argentina, is the second largest wetland on the planet.

A swamp or swamp is a shallow, stagnant layer of water in which aquatic vegetation grows, which can be very dense.

Most of the time, the swamp occupies, in a valley, the part abandoned by the waters of a river, like old meanders, beds that used to be very wide and then reduced due to some cause that has affected the flow of the river. In semi-desert regions it is not uncommon for endorheism to give rise to the formation of extensive swamps whose area is subject to enormous seasonal variations. Wetlands can be freshwater or saltwater and tidal or non-tidal.

In Spain, reservoirs are also known as swamps. On the other hand, in Venezuela, by extension, the word swamp is used as a synonym for “lodazal”.

Ecology

A marsh o Freshwater swamp in Florida, United States.

It is common for certain swamps to produce runoff in the form of mantles, and the land usually has one or two plant species with dominant aerial roots (such as the Everglades mangroves in the United States). In other types of swamps, the water circulates through channels, but it flows only in times of thaw or heavy rainfall, which generates the existence of mud, sediments and nutrients in the swamp, and in turn influences the seasonal variation of the depth. of swampy water.

Understood as an ecosystem, different submerged and floating plants coexist in the swamps such as: algae, water lily, rush, wild rice and cattail. When the sediments fill the bottom of the swamp, the aquatic vegetation is gradually replaced by scrub and, at other times, by species typical of the mainland with grasses and larger trees that sink their roots into the bottom rich in organic deposits. Freshwater or saltwater marshes provide nesting and wintering habitats for seabirds, small mammals, frogs, crocodiles, insects, and many other hydrophilic species.

Some swamps in the world

Africa

• Bangweulu, Zambia
• Okavango, Botswana
• Sudd, South Sudan
• Niger Delta, Nigeria
• Mare aux Songes, Mauritius

Asian

• Asmat
• Pantanos de Vasiugán, Russia
• Candaba Swamp in Apalit and Candaba, Pampanga and Pulilan, Bulacan, Philippines
• Mangrove Swamp in Karachi, Pakistan
• Myristica Swamp in the Western Ghats, India
• Ratargul Swamp Forest in Sylhet, Bangladesh
• Sundarbans in India and Bangladesh

Europe

• Sjaunja, Sweden
• Marismas de Pinsk, Belarus
• Nature Reserve of Šúr, Slovakia
• Valmayor reservoir, Spain

North America

• Great Black Swamp, Ohio/Indian, United States
• Pocomoke, Maryland, United States
• Okefenokee, Georgia/Florida, United States
• Lake Reelfoot, Tennessee, United States
• Everglades, Florida, United States
• Limberlost, Indiana, United States
• Lake Martin, Louisiana, United States
• Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, United States
• Pantanos de Centla, Tabasco, Mexico
• Bayous:
  • Bayou Lafourche, Lousiana, United States
  • Bayou Terrebonne, Lousiana, United States

South America

• Pantanal, Brazil/Bolivia/Paraguay
• Várzea Forest, Brazil
• Igapó, Brazil
• Esteros del Iberá, Argentina
• Delta del Paraná, Argentina
• Bañado La Estrella, Argentina
• Bañados de Izozog, Bolivia
• Río Cruces, Chile
• Natural monument Lahuen Ñadi, Chile
• Pantanos de Villa, Peru
• Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia

Oceania

• Pantano Hasties National Park, Australia
• Pantano de la Cart National Park, Australia

Reference