What is a swamp?
Most commonly recognized as shoreline areas of streams, lakes and floodplains, swamps are either treed or shrubby.
Swamps are a common, diverse group of wetlands with nutrient-rich soil. They are often transition areas between upland forest and other wetland areas and typically have hummocky ground that may contain pools of water.
Ecological
- Moderate floods by slowing water flow
- Fertile soils support a diversity of trees, shrubs, and other plants
- Vegetation protects shoreline areas from erosion and sedimentation
- The variety of swamp wetlands provide a high diversity of habitat for many species of wildlife
Types of swamps
- Treed swamps: dense (>75% canopy closure) tall trees (>10m); may me conifer-dominated, hardwood-dominated or mixed wood
- Shrub swamp: dominated by tall shrubs (>2m) such as willow and alder
Vegetation
- Treed swamp species: black spruce and tamarack (conifer swamps), white birch, balsam poplar (hardwood swamps) or combinations of conifer and hardwood species (mixed wood swamps)
- Shrub swamp species: willow, redosier dogwood and speckled alder with sedges and grasses
Soil
- Nutrient levels: range from poor to rich, with conifer swamps, being poor to medium and other swamps ranging from medium to rich
- Typically, less than 40 cm of peat; primarily composed of decaying shrubs and trees (unlike sphagnum-dominated peat in bogs and fens)
- Most soil is aerated, but water availability is still high in lower portions of root zone
- Typically gleysols with mottling (signs of temporary flooding) in the upper horizons and gleying (signs of permanent saturation) in the lower horizons
Hydrology
- Water source: run-off, precipitation, groundwater and flooding from adjacent wetlands
- Seasonally flooded, fluctuating water levels
- Hummocky terrain with pools of water
Types of wetlands
Canada’s wetlands can be broadly categorized into two types: organic and mineral.
Organic wetlands
Otherwise known as peatlands, these wetlands have an abundance of peat accumulation on which organic soils (excluding Folisols) are developed. These types of wetlands can include swamps, marshes, or shallow open-water wetlands.
Bogs
Bogs are peatlands that have deep deposits of poorly decomposed organic material (referred to as peat). They are elevated above the surrounding terrain and receive water and most nutrients from precipitation.
Fens
Fens are peatlands with deep organic deposits and are influenced by slow, lateral water movement. Often referred to as “muskeg,” fens are the most extensive wetlands in the western boreal forest.
Mineral wetlands
Mineral wetlands are found in locations where there is an excess of water on the surface and where there is little or no organic matter or peat due to geomorphic, hydrologic, biotic, edaphic (soil-related), or climatic causes. These wetlands are distinguished by gleysolic soils or peaty phases of these soils.
Marshes
Marshes are wetlands periodically inundated by standing or slowly moving water and creating nutrient-rich soil.
Swamps
Most commonly recognized as shoreline areas of streams, lakes and floodplains, swamps are either treed or shrubby.
Shallow open-water wetlands
Shallow open-water wetlands have water depths of less than two metres, yet are too deep for emergent marsh vegetation to establish.