Swamps

Impact Area

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.

Swamps

What is a swamp?

Ecological

Types of swamps

Vegetation

Soil

Hydrology

Types of wetlands

Organic wetlands

Bogs

Fens

Mineral wetlands

Marshes

Swamps

Shallow open-water wetlands