Wetlands Glossary
Anaerobic
Without oxygen, as
in wetlands soils that are starved of oxygen.
Contaminant
Harmful substance deposited in the air or water or land.
Detritus
Dead and dying plants; can also be bits of animal remains; forms base
of nutrient web in wetlands.
Habitat
Food, water, shelter, and space that an animal requires.
Hydrology
(as in wetlands)
Amount and period of time that water is present.
Hydric
soils
Soils low or absent in oxygen due to their saturation in water.
Hydrophytic
vegetation
Plants adapted to wet soil.
Load
Amount of
contaminant/pollutant/ sediment being carried by a stream, river, or
other waterway.
Pollutant
See "contaminant."
*Runoff
Water that drains or flows off the surface of the land.
Sediment
Silt washed from the land and into the water. Soil, mineral Contains
few decomposing plants; usually comprised of materials such as clay,
sand, or silt. Soil, organic Contains large amount of decomposing plants.
*Water
cycle
The continuous circulation of water in systems throughout the planet,
involving condensation, precipitation, runoff, evaporation, and transpiration.
Wetland
As defined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: An area inundated or
saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient
to support, and that under normal circumstances does support, a prevalence
of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
*Indicates definitions
adapted from Project WILD or Project WILD Aquatic Education Activity
Guide, 1992.
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