Wooded Wetland

Wooded Wetland. . Wetland is an area where the primary factor controlling the plants and animals is water. In wetland woods, conditions during the year may be wet enough that only certain trees, shrubs, and other plants may survive. Our wetland woods area is just above the normal water level of the pond. The plants survive in a very shallow water table and their roots are constantly wet. The plants common in wetland woods are hydrophilic (water loving), and can survive in the wet conditions found here. Most of the plants here are very efficient at photosynthesis (taking advantage of the Sun's energy to produce food) and at using the available nutrients. Many of these plants grow very fast and lack extensive root systems that dry land plants require. They often have trunks with wide, buttressed bases to help them stay upright in the soft soil. They often grow thickly together, perhaps to help them weather the winds that are common on the Eastern Shore. When a large tree is blown over in the wetland woods, a small pond is often formed. These ponds are homes to frogs and insects which need protected open water to breed.