AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Wetlands must have one or more of the following three attributes: 1) at least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytes; 2) the substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soil; and 3) the substrate is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season of each year.

Detailed explanation-2: -The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog, and fen (bogs and fens being types of peatlands or mires).

Detailed explanation-3: -Peatlands are wetlands with a thick water-logged soil layer made up of dead and decaying plant material. Peatlands include moors, bogs, mires, peat swamp forests and permafrost tundra. Peatlands represent half of the Earth’s wetlands and cover 3% of the global total land area.

Detailed explanation-4: -Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.