AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A simplified definition of wetland is “an area of land that is usually saturated with water". More precisely, 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".

Detailed explanation-2: -A wetland is entirely covered by water at least part of the year. The depth and duration of this seasonal flooding varies. Wetlands are transition zones.

Detailed explanation-3: -Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres.

Detailed explanation-4: -"Wetlands are those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.

Detailed explanation-5: -An isolated land habitat surrounded by water is an island, while a chain of islands is an archipelago. The smaller the island, the larger the percentage of its land area will be adjacent to the water, and subsequently will be coast or beach. Islands can be formed by a variety of processes.