Editing Floating island (section)

==Natural occurrences==
[[File:Isola galleggiante Posta Fibreno picc.jpg|thumb|right|Floating island ''La Rota'' in [[Lago di Posta Fibreno|Posta Fibreno lake]], Italy]]
Natural floating islands are composed of vegetation growing on a buoyant mat of plant roots or other organic detritus.
In aquatic regions of Northwestern Europe, several hundred hectares or a couple thousand acres of floating meadows (German ''Schwingrasen'', Dutch ''trilveen'') have been preserved, which are partly used as agricultural land, partly as nature reserves.

They typically occur when growths of [[Typha|cattail]]s, [[Schoenoplectus|bulrush]], [[Cyperaceae|sedge]], and [[Phragmites|reed]]s extend outward from the shoreline of a wetland area. As the water gets deeper the roots no longer reach the bottom, so they use the oxygen in their root mass for [[buoyancy]], and the surrounding vegetation for support to retain their top-side-up orientation. The area beneath these floating mats is exceptionally rich in aquatic lifeforms. Eventually, storm events tear whole sections free from the shore, and the islands thus formed migrate around a lake with changing winds, eventually either reattaching to a new area of the shore or breaking up in heavy weather.

Some [[cenote]]s in northern Mexico have natural floating islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iantd.com/articles/94-4kristovich.html/ |title=Zacaton. A History |last=Kristovich |first=Ann |date=2003-04-20 | publisher=International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers |access-date=2023-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030420191836/http://www.iantd.com/articles/94-4kristovich.html/ |archive-date=2003-04-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the Brazilian Amazon, floating islands form in lakes on the floodplains of white-water rivers and are known as Matupá and range in size from a few square meters to a few hectares.<ref name=Freitas>{{cite journal |last1=de Freitas |first1=Carolina T. |last2=Glenn H. |first2= Shepard Jr |last3= Piedade |first3=Maria T. F.|date=April 2, 2015 |title=The Floating Forest: Traditional Knowledge and Use of Matupá Vegetation Islands by Riverine Peoples of the Central Amazon |journal=PLOS ONE |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0122542 |pmid=25837281 |pmc=4383509 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=e0122542|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1022542D |doi-access=free }}{{Open access}}</ref>

In [[Crow Wing County, Minnesota]] a floating bog over {{convert|4|acre|spell=in}} in size moved about the area resulting in docks and boat lifts being destroyed. As decaying mass decomposes it releases gases which keep the bog floating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/floating-island-bog-crow-wing-county-minnesota|title=How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Giant Floating Bog?| first=Andrea|last=Appleton|date=6 March 2018|website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref>

===Pumice rafts===

Another type of natural floating island is the [[pumice raft]], which is created by an explosive [[volcanic eruption]], and can float on the ocean for months or even years before becoming fully saturated and sinking.<ref name=Pumice082019/> They may assist in the migration of plants and animals.<ref name=Pumice082019>{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-23/giant-pumice-raft-makes-its-way-to-great-barrier-reef/11444020 |title=Giant pumice raft from underwater volcanic eruption makes its way to Great Barrier Reef |first=Kate|last=McKenna |date=August 23, 2019 |website=abc.net.au |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref>