What is the difference between a swamp and a marsh?
Posted: September 13, 2010 Filed under: Places | Tags: Estuary, Mangrove, Marsh, Wetland 1 Comment »Swamps and marshes are easily interchanged as they are both areas of vegetation that are susceptible to flooding.
But, in North America they are defined a little differently. A swamp is a place where the plants that make up the area covered in water are primarily woody plants or trees. Woody plants would be mangroves or cypress trees. A marsh, on the other hand, is defined as having no woody plants. The non-woody plants would be saltmarsh grasses, reeds or sedges. Also, marshes are typically not as deep as swamps.
Both of these habitats are great place for wildlife. With so many plants in the water, fish use wetlands and swamps as a nursery ground. The plants are a great place to hide their eggs and are a hiding spots for juvenile fish to hide from predators.
Swamps and marshes can be either freshwater, saltwater, or a mixture of both (this mixture of both is known as an estuary).
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