Editing Marsh (section)

{{Short description|Low-lying and seasonally waterlogged land}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Redirect|Marshland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
[[File:Meadowlands Lyndhurst.jpg|thumb|300px|Marshlands are often noted within [[wetland]]s, as seen here in the [[New Jersey Meadowlands]] at [[Lyndhurst, New Jersey|Lyndhurst]], New Jersey, U.S.]]
[[File:USGS image cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|right|Marsh in shallow water on a lakeshore]]

In [[ecology]], a '''marsh''' is a [[wetland]] that is dominated by [[herbaceous plant]]s rather than by [[woody plant]]s.<ref name="Keddy, P.A 2010">Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p</ref> More in general, the word can be used for any low-lying and seasonally waterlogged terrain. In Europe and in agricultural literature low-lying [[meadows]] that require draining and embanked [[polder]]lands are also referred to as marshes or marshland.

Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial [[ecosystems]]. They are often dominated by [[Poaceae|grasses]], [[Juncaceae|rushes]] or reeds.<ref>{{cite web|last=World Encyclopedia|title=Marshes|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/marsh.aspx#2|access-date=4 February 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523032037/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/marsh.aspx#2|archive-date=23 May 2013}}</ref> If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs, and the marsh is sometimes called a [[Carr (landform)|carr]]. This form of vegetation is what differentiates marshes from other types of wetland such as [[swamps]], which are dominated by [[tree]]s, and [[mire]]s, which are wetlands that have accumulated deposits of acidic [[peat]].<ref name="Rafferty">{{cite book|last=Rafferty|first=J.P.|title=Lakes and Wetlands|year=2011|publisher=Britannica Educational service publishing's
|location=New York, N.Y.}}</ref>

Marshes provide [[habitat]]s for many kinds of [[Invertebrate|invertebrates]], [[fish]], [[Amphibian|amphibians]], [[Anseriformes|waterfowl]] and [[Aquatic mammal|aquatic mammals]].<ref name="Campbell" /> This [[Productivity (ecology)|biological productivity]] means that marshes contain 0.1% of global [[Biosequestration|sequestered terrestrial carbon]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=FitzGerald|first1=Duncan M.|last2=Hughes|first2=Zoe|date=2019-05-30|title=Marsh Processes and Their Response to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise|journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences|language=en|volume=47|issue=1|pages=481–517|doi=10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010255|bibcode=2019AREPS..47..481F|s2cid=134372265|issn=0084-6597|doi-access=free}}</ref> Moreover, they have an outsized influence on [[climate resilience]] of coastal areas and waterways, absorbing high tides and other water changes due to [[extreme weather]].<ref name=":1" /> Though some marshes are expected to migrate upland, most natural marshlands will be threatened by [[sea level rise]] and [[Coastal erosion|associated erosion]].<ref name=":1" />