CW2 8765

From Environmental Technology

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A. Wetlands are marshes, swamps, bogs, and similar areas found between dry land and water along the edges of streams, lakes, ponds, rivers, and coastlines. They are characterized by their vegetation: emergent wetlands are dominated by grasses, sedges and other herbaceous or non-woody plants; Shrub wetlands have low to medium-height woody plants; and Forested wetlands are largely wooded swamps and bottomland hardwood forests. Some types are estuarine and palustrine wetlands. Several wetland types occur throughout the Chesapeake watershed due to its variability in typography, climate, soil, hydrology, salinity, vegetation and other factors.

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B.Some functions of wetlands are they protect and improve water quality, they help control flooding and erosion, and they provide habitat for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.

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C. Less than 60% of the original forest still remains. So about 40% is at loss. More than 50 major tree species and more than 2,700 different plant species grow in the Chesapeake Bay.

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D.The functions of the forest are: to Protect Water Quality, Forests act as sponges by capturing rainfall, reducing runoff, and helping the flow of streams; by Creating Habitat for Fish and Wildlife, forests provide food, shelter, nesting sites and safe paths for the animals of the land and sea; Improve Air Quality; and Encourage Recreation, Forests offer us places in which to go hiking and get dirty but to also see its natural beauty.

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E.Producers: plants and algae that creat their own food. Consumers: organisms that eat plant or other animals. Decomposers: digest the bodies of dead plants and animals and the waste products of both.

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F.If all of the Plankton were removed it would stop the food chain killing all larger organisms that feed on them. Plankton are useful indicators of high nutrient conditions due to their propensity to multiply rapidly in the right conditions, so if they were lost no indication would be availible. I think that if there was an overabundance of Plankton here that it would drownd out other organisms and hurt the entire ecosystem.

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G. (a) It occurs all over. In some places wetlands were filled to provide land for more houses, office buildings, industrial facilities and sanitary landfills and in other places wetlands were drained, cleared and put into crop production. Something should be done about this because if nothing is done about this soon there will be no more wetlands inland or on the coast land. I'm sure that there are other places where this is happening. As I stated above, it occurs all over in the filling them to make farm land with or to build houses on. It would be really weird if it was only happening here.