The Marsh Ecosystem at the Watershed Center

Marshes are shallow wetlands that usually flood in the spring. Some soil in marshes is high in organic content, other soil is mucky. Dominant plants may include, bluepoint grass, reed canary grass, rice cut grass bur-reeds, sweet flag, tussocks sedge, cattails, pickerel weed, wool grass, and sedge. Beaver, muskrat, and mink are commonly spotted in marshes. Also many reptiles including snakes (garter), leopard frogs, and spring peepers. Some of the birds native to marshes include red-winged blackbird and swamp sparrows. Another bird occasionally found in marshes is a great blue heron. Marshes are a very common type of wetland often in lower elevations, there are many around Vermont.

We are hoping you'll use this field guide to help monitor biodiversity in the Watersehd Center marsh on the Watershed Center Biodiversity Project. Biodiversity is important in marshes because without it some species would overpopulate and others would die off. An example of this would be if cattails died off then muskrats wouldn't have as much food. With biodiversity on their side muskrats would have plenty to eat because there would be other plants there to feed them. Without biodiversity, muskrats and all the other animals that need cattails to survive wouldn't have enough food to eat and they would become extinct.

Source~Wetland,Woodland,Wildland By: Elizabeth H.Thompson and Eric R. Sorenson less ↑