One cool project we collaborated on this year at UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County was the “Sarasota County Starter Kit.” The program “equips new (and existing) community members with essential information, from saving on utilities to living with local wildlife.” We offered free classes, webinars, and other tools on a range of topics. And, so you can access that information any time, we built a webpage (tiny.cc/ufsaraext_starterkit) and recorded each webinar (tiny.cc/ufsaraext_starterkitvids), including my session on “wetlands.”

I decided to teach about wetlands because they are essential to us. Wetlands provide critical ecological services that we could not live without; therefore, their preservation and conservation are tied to our well-being. I will talk more about those services in this blog, but before I do that, let me define a wetland.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a wetland is “an area where water covers the soil or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods during the year, including during the growing season.” Put simply, a wetland is an area saturated with water.

What’s a wetland?

Wetlands, even the same type, can look very different based on regional and local differences in soil types, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry such as salinity, vegetation, and other factors, including human disturbance.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) classifies wetlands into five general types:

• Marine (ocean): shallow seas and coral reefs.
• Estuarine (estuary): mangroves and mudflats.
• Riverine (river): ponds and deltas.
• Lacustrine (lakes): lakes and floodplains.
• Palustrine (marsh): marshes and fens.

However, two general categories of wetlands are recognized: the coastal or tidal wetlands and the inland or non-tidal wetlands. Wetlands comprise 31 percent of all of Florida, with 90 percent of those classified as  freshwater systems and the remaining 10 percent noted as coastal wetlands, such as salt marshes and mangrove swamps.

What’s a wetland do?

Wetlands provide an array of critical services. They are vital for water storage, functioning like a natural tub or sponge to soak up surges of water and then slowly release it over time. Wetlands also slow the movement of water and erosive potential, reduce flood heights, and allow groundwater systems to recharge. By slowing water movement, wetland plants cause suspended sediments to drop out and settle on the wetland floor, which enhances the absorption of dissolved nutrients by plant roots and microorganisms in the soil. Therefore, wetlands help with water filtration.

Wetlands are among the most biologically productive natural ecosystems. The abundance of plants and shallow waters provide diverse habitats for wildlife. Aquatic plant life thrives in wetlands and nutrient-rich environments, and energy converted by plants is moved throughout the food chain. Wetlands in Florida are home to many threatened and endangered species, such as American crocodiles, sea turtles, Florida panthers, key deer, easter indigo snake, and manatees, among others.

What’s a wetland worth?

All of these wetland services have an economic value, as well. And, wetlands provide recreational opportunities, sites for research and education, and transportation, and more.

Where’s the wetland?

Despite their vital importance, wetlands are under constant threat. Anthropogenic activities, such as converting wetlands to agricultural or urban spaces, contribute to the depletion of wetland areas. Pollution, such as oil spills, herbicide runoff, human waste, and industrial chemicals, also contribute to the damage and loss of wetlands. Natural events, such as hurricanes, can also impact wetlands by causing over-flooding and burying plants in sand and silt.

According to the latest report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “more than half of wetlands in the lower 48 states are gone, and losses continue, mostly in the Southeast, Great Lakes, and Prairie Pothole regions. And in 2019, wetlands occupied less than 6% of the conterminous United States by area.”

Wetland steward… and how?

Once wetlands are lost, it isn’t easy to fully restore ecosystem function and the complete range of benefits that wetlands provide to humans, plants, and animals. Therefore, we need to protect and conserve wetlands. And key steps to doing so include:

1. Visiting and learning about your local wetlands. By visiting the Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory website, you can locate wetlands near you using the service’s interactive map.
2. Implementing better management practices for your landscape, especially if you live near a water body.
   • You can help improve the health of wetlands by planting buffer strips of native plants near and around water resources. Here in Sarasota, a 10-foot fertilizer-free zone is recommended.
   • Many Florida counties prohibit the use of fertilizers, including slow-release fertilizers, during the June 01 to Sept. 30 rainy season.
   • Remove invasive species from the landscape. Invasive species, such as Brazilian pepper trees, can encroach and replace native flora and change the function of the wetland.
   • Learn more about best management practices for your landscape by visiting the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ program website (ffl.ifas.ufl.edu) or visiting your local extension office for more information and resources.
3. Help prevent pollution. Clean up after your pet. Pet waste does not just decompose. It adds harmful bacteria (pathogens) and nutrients to local waters. Excess nutrients from animal feces can cause weeds and algae to grow more rapidly than normal, and this can change the balance of the ecosystem.
4. Get involved and volunteer. Contact your local park department and ask about volunteer opportunities in your county. Many public lands, including those that have wetlands, rely on the help of dedicated volunteers to manage the park grounds. Volunteers help with planting of native species, removal of invasive species, and delivering education programming, among others.

You could also donate to the conservation and preservation of wetlands. And, one of the easiest ways to do so is by acquiring a Florida “Conserve Wildlife” license plate/tag. Fees collected during the purchase of the Conserve Wildlife plate go directly to the Foundation’s Conserve Wildlife Tag Grant Program. Grants benefit a wide variety of wildlife species that inhabit and depend on wetlands for their survival.

I hope you enjoy reading and learning about wetlands. And don’t forget to check our recorded webinars.

(Image credits: UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, Armando Ubeda)

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