of the largest and most diverse bird populations of all wetland types. In a survey of tidal freshwater marshes, Odum
et al. (1984) counted 280 species of birds in a broad range
of sub-habitats. Shorebirds, including sandpipers, killdeer,
woodcocks, dunlins, as well as rails, use low marsh and
exposed mudflats. Seed-eating species such as
red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, and bobolinks use the
mid- and high marsh, which contains grasses and sedges.
Herons, egrets, ibises, bitterns, and other wading birds
depend on ponded areas and channels. The marsh plain
and open water areas are prime habitat for ducks, geese,
swans, and other waterfowl, which have been hunted by
human populations for thousands of years (Barendregt
and Swarth, 2013). Shrubs and trees are used by arboreal
birds such as flycatchers and swallows. Tidal marsh
habitat also provides hunting grounds for hawks, falcons,
eagles, owls, and other birds of prey.
Today, tidal freshwater habitat is recognized for providing important ecosystem services such as biodiversity support and water purification (Barendregt and Swarth,
2013). Despite this, much tidal freshwater habitat has been
transformed or lost, due to its close proximity to human
populations. Extensive regions containing tidal freshwater
habitat have been drained and reclaimed for agriculture
(Penland and Ramsey, 1990; Ibanez et al., 1997; Drexler
et al., 2009a). What remains has been impacted by nutrient
loading, contaminants, and/or hydrologic diversions
(Barendregt and Swarth, 2013). Sea-level rise presents
a further threat to tidal freshwater habitat, particularly
from changes in hydrology and increases in salinity, which
may dramatically alter plant communities (Barendregt and
Swarth, 2013). In suitable environments, wetland
restoration may be used to reverse this trend and regain
habitat values and ecosystem services provided by tidal
freshwater habitat.
Summary
Tidal freshwater habitat consists of wetland ecosystems
containing a wide variety of plant communities, a high
diversity of birds, and plenty of other wildlife adapted to
wet conditions. Such ecosystems are typically found at
the far upstream end of estuaries. This position in the landscape makes tidal freshwater habitat vulnerable to localized impacts such as drainage, water diversion, and
pollution as well as regional and global processes such
as sea-level rise. In suitable environments, restoration of
wetlands may be used to regain ecosystem services and
habitat values provided by tidal freshwater habitat.
Bibliography
Barendregt, A., and Swarth, C. W., 2013. Tidal freshwater wetlands:
variation and change. Estuaries and Coasts, 36, 445–456.
Campbell, H. A., Dwyer, R. G., Irwin, T. R., and Franklin, C. E.,
2013. Home range utilisation and long-range movement of estuarine crocodiles during the breeding and nesting Season. PLoS
ONE, 8(5), e62127, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062127.
Cherkiss, M. S., Romañach, S. S., and Mazzotti, F. J., 2011.
The American crocodile in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Estuaries
and Coasts, 34, 529–535.
Coulling, P. P., 2002. A preliminary classification of tidal marsh,
shrub swamp, and hardwood swamp vegetation and assorted
non-tidal, chiefly non-maritime, herbaceous wetland communities of the Virginia Coastal Plain. Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage.
Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-18.
Drexler, J. Z., de Fontaine, C. S., and Deverel, S. J., 2009a. The
legacy of wetland drainage on the remaining peat in the
Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, USA. Wetlands,
29, 372–386.
Drexler, J. Z., de Fontaine, C. S., and Brown, T. A., 2009b. Peat
accretion histories during the past 6,000 years in marshes of
the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, CA, USA. Estuaries and
Coasts, 32, 871–892.
Dubenstein, J. A., Conner, W. H., and Krauss, K. W., 2013. Woody
vegetation communities of tidal freshwater swamps in South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida (US) with comparisons to similar
systems in the US and South America. Journal of Vegetation
Science, doi:10.1111/jvs.12115.
Ellison, J., Koedam, N. E., Wang, Y., Primavera, J., Jin Eong, O.,
Wan-Hong Yong, J., and Ngoc Nam, V., 2010. Nypa fruticans.
In IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version
2012.2. www.iucnredlist.org.
Ewel, K. C., 2010. Appreciating tropical coastal wetlands from
a landscape perspective. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8(1), 20–26.
Ibanez, C., Antoni, C., Day, J. W., Jr., and Curco, A., 1997. Morphologic development, relative sea level rise and sustainable
management and sediment in the Ebre Delta, Spain. Journal of
Coastal Conservation, 3, 191–202.
Johnson, G. E., Storch, A. J., Skalski, J. R., Bryson, A. J.,
Mallette, C., Borde, A. B., Van Dyke, E. S., and Sobocinski,
K. L., 2011. Ecology of juvenile salmon in shallow tidal freshwater habitats of the Lower Columbia River, 2007–2010. Final
Report: PNNL-20083. Prepared for the Bonneville Power
Administration under U.S. Department of Energy Contract
DE-AC05-76RL01830.
Mitsch, W. J., and Gosselink, J. G., 2000. Wetlands. New York:
John Wiley & Sons.
Odum, W. E., Smith, T. J., Hoover, J. K., and McIvor, C. C., 1984.
The ecology of tidal freshwater marshes of the United States east
coast: a community profile. U.S. Fish Wildlife Service
WS/OBS-83/27.
Penland, S., and Ramsey, K. E., 1990. Relative sea-level rise in
Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico: 1908–1988. Journal of
Coastal Research, 6, 323–342.
Rivera-Ocasio, E., Aide, T. M., and Rios-Lopez, N., 2007. The effects
of salinity on the dynamics of a Pterocarpus officinalis forest stand
in Puerto Rico. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 23, 559–568.
Thomas, D. W., 1984. The vascular flora of the Columbia River
estuary. Wassman Journal of Biology, 42, 92–106.
Whigham, D. F., Baldwin, A. H., and Barendregt, A., 2009. Tidal
freshwater wetlands. In Perillo, G. M. E., Wolanski, E., Cahoon,
D. R., and Brinson, M. M. (eds.), Coastal Wetlands: An Integrated
Ecosystem Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 515–533.
Cross-references
Anadromous
Ecological Niche
Invasive Species
Peat
Tidal Ranges
Wetlands
TIDAL FRESHWATER HABITAT
685
et al. (1984) counted 280 species of birds in a broad range
of sub-habitats. Shorebirds, including sandpipers, killdeer,
woodcocks, dunlins, as well as rails, use low marsh and
exposed mudflats. Seed-eating species such as
red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, and bobolinks use the
mid- and high marsh, which contains grasses and sedges.
Herons, egrets, ibises, bitterns, and other wading birds
depend on ponded areas and channels. The marsh plain
and open water areas are prime habitat for ducks, geese,
swans, and other waterfowl, which have been hunted by
human populations for thousands of years (Barendregt
and Swarth, 2013). Shrubs and trees are used by arboreal
birds such as flycatchers and swallows. Tidal marsh
habitat also provides hunting grounds for hawks, falcons,
eagles, owls, and other birds of prey.
Today, tidal freshwater habitat is recognized for providing important ecosystem services such as biodiversity support and water purification (Barendregt and Swarth,
2013). Despite this, much tidal freshwater habitat has been
transformed or lost, due to its close proximity to human
populations. Extensive regions containing tidal freshwater
habitat have been drained and reclaimed for agriculture
(Penland and Ramsey, 1990; Ibanez et al., 1997; Drexler
et al., 2009a). What remains has been impacted by nutrient
loading, contaminants, and/or hydrologic diversions
(Barendregt and Swarth, 2013). Sea-level rise presents
a further threat to tidal freshwater habitat, particularly
from changes in hydrology and increases in salinity, which
may dramatically alter plant communities (Barendregt and
Swarth, 2013). In suitable environments, wetland
restoration may be used to reverse this trend and regain
habitat values and ecosystem services provided by tidal
freshwater habitat.
Summary
Tidal freshwater habitat consists of wetland ecosystems
containing a wide variety of plant communities, a high
diversity of birds, and plenty of other wildlife adapted to
wet conditions. Such ecosystems are typically found at
the far upstream end of estuaries. This position in the landscape makes tidal freshwater habitat vulnerable to localized impacts such as drainage, water diversion, and
pollution as well as regional and global processes such
as sea-level rise. In suitable environments, restoration of
wetlands may be used to regain ecosystem services and
habitat values provided by tidal freshwater habitat.
Bibliography
Barendregt, A., and Swarth, C. W., 2013. Tidal freshwater wetlands:
variation and change. Estuaries and Coasts, 36, 445–456.
Campbell, H. A., Dwyer, R. G., Irwin, T. R., and Franklin, C. E.,
2013. Home range utilisation and long-range movement of estuarine crocodiles during the breeding and nesting Season. PLoS
ONE, 8(5), e62127, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062127.
Cherkiss, M. S., Romañach, S. S., and Mazzotti, F. J., 2011.
The American crocodile in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Estuaries
and Coasts, 34, 529–535.
Coulling, P. P., 2002. A preliminary classification of tidal marsh,
shrub swamp, and hardwood swamp vegetation and assorted
non-tidal, chiefly non-maritime, herbaceous wetland communities of the Virginia Coastal Plain. Virginia Department of
Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage.
Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-18.
Drexler, J. Z., de Fontaine, C. S., and Deverel, S. J., 2009a. The
legacy of wetland drainage on the remaining peat in the
Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, USA. Wetlands,
29, 372–386.
Drexler, J. Z., de Fontaine, C. S., and Brown, T. A., 2009b. Peat
accretion histories during the past 6,000 years in marshes of
the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, CA, USA. Estuaries and
Coasts, 32, 871–892.
Dubenstein, J. A., Conner, W. H., and Krauss, K. W., 2013. Woody
vegetation communities of tidal freshwater swamps in South
Carolina, Georgia, and Florida (US) with comparisons to similar
systems in the US and South America. Journal of Vegetation
Science, doi:10.1111/jvs.12115.
Ellison, J., Koedam, N. E., Wang, Y., Primavera, J., Jin Eong, O.,
Wan-Hong Yong, J., and Ngoc Nam, V., 2010. Nypa fruticans.
In IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version
2012.2. www.iucnredlist.org.
Ewel, K. C., 2010. Appreciating tropical coastal wetlands from
a landscape perspective. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8(1), 20–26.
Ibanez, C., Antoni, C., Day, J. W., Jr., and Curco, A., 1997. Morphologic development, relative sea level rise and sustainable
management and sediment in the Ebre Delta, Spain. Journal of
Coastal Conservation, 3, 191–202.
Johnson, G. E., Storch, A. J., Skalski, J. R., Bryson, A. J.,
Mallette, C., Borde, A. B., Van Dyke, E. S., and Sobocinski,
K. L., 2011. Ecology of juvenile salmon in shallow tidal freshwater habitats of the Lower Columbia River, 2007–2010. Final
Report: PNNL-20083. Prepared for the Bonneville Power
Administration under U.S. Department of Energy Contract
DE-AC05-76RL01830.
Mitsch, W. J., and Gosselink, J. G., 2000. Wetlands. New York:
John Wiley & Sons.
Odum, W. E., Smith, T. J., Hoover, J. K., and McIvor, C. C., 1984.
The ecology of tidal freshwater marshes of the United States east
coast: a community profile. U.S. Fish Wildlife Service
WS/OBS-83/27.
Penland, S., and Ramsey, K. E., 1990. Relative sea-level rise in
Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico: 1908–1988. Journal of
Coastal Research, 6, 323–342.
Rivera-Ocasio, E., Aide, T. M., and Rios-Lopez, N., 2007. The effects
of salinity on the dynamics of a Pterocarpus officinalis forest stand
in Puerto Rico. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 23, 559–568.
Thomas, D. W., 1984. The vascular flora of the Columbia River
estuary. Wassman Journal of Biology, 42, 92–106.
Whigham, D. F., Baldwin, A. H., and Barendregt, A., 2009. Tidal
freshwater wetlands. In Perillo, G. M. E., Wolanski, E., Cahoon,
D. R., and Brinson, M. M. (eds.), Coastal Wetlands: An Integrated
Ecosystem Approach. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 515–533.
Cross-references
Anadromous
Ecological Niche
Invasive Species
Peat
Tidal Ranges
Wetlands
TIDAL FRESHWATER HABITAT
685