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This is an abbreviated glossary designed for this web site. For a more complete list of definitions, see Appendix F of the complete Iowa Wetlands and Riparian Areas Conservation Plan. The index will take you to entries beginning with the letter you click. Some letters contain no entries and therefore are not links at this time. A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z Biodiversity The sum of all species of plants and animals. An ecosystem is considered healthy when it supports the most diverse numbers and types of species it is capable of supporting. Biota Animal and plant life. Bog A shrubby peatland dominated by shrubs, sedges, and peat moss and usually having a saturated water regime, or a forested peatland dominated by evergreen trees (usually spruces and firs) and/or larch. Bogs have a high water table maintained directly by rain and snow. Bogs are characterized by acid-loving vegetation, and are often typified by the dense surface cover of aquatic moss. Constructed or Created wetlands Former terrestrial environments that have been designed or engineered to establish the necessary conditions (soils, hydrology, and flora/fauna) for a wetland. The purpose is often to treat wastewater. Delineation Refers to the process of determining the boundary of a wetland in a specific location. Enhance (wetland) To improve existing wetlands to benefit a particular function or value, sometimes at the expense of other functions and values. Fen A sedge-moss type of wetland produced where slightly alkaline water emerges at the surface. (Bogs have similar types of vegetation but tend to be acid.) Peat-forming freshwater wetlands are generally non-acidic, receive nutrients mainly from groundwater sources, and are dominated by marsh-like vegetation. Floodplain wetlands Wetlands that are influenced by and associated with the flowing water of rivers and streams. They are usually influenced by surface water and groundwater sources. Function Refers to how wetlands and riparian areas work--the physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in these settings, which are a result of their physical and biological structure. Hydric soil Soil that is saturated, flooded, or ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions in the upper part. When soil is saturated with water during the growing season, soil organisms consume all the oxygen, which limits the type of vegetation that can grow there. Under these conditions the soil becomes hydric, its main characteristic being a thick layer of decomposing plant material on the surface. Deeper down, it is bluish-gray, gray, or sometimes black. It may emit an odor of rotten eggs. Hydric vegetation or Hydrophyte Water-loving plants found where water is at or near the surface, forming good indicators of wetlands. Any macrophyte (broad-leaved plant) that grows in water or on a substrate that is at least periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content. Typical hydrophytic vegetation includes cattails, bulrushes, cordgrass, willows, cottonwood, and sedges. Hydrogeomorphic Of or pertaining to a synthesis of the geomorphic setting, the water source and its transport, and hydrodynamics Hydrology The study of the cycle of water movement on, over and through the earth's surface. The science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water. Landscape A heterogeneous mix of properties that encompass more than one ownership or management unit. Marsh A community of water-tolerant, soft-bodied emergent plants and associated animals usually found in a basin of shallow water or on saturated soils fed primarily by underground water sources. Wetlands are characterized by frequent or continual inundation, emergent herbaceous vegetation such as cattails and rushes, and mineral soils. Mitigation A process of minimizing or compensating for damages to natural habitats, caused by human developments. These activities are designed to decrease the degree of damage to an ecosystem. They may include restoration, enhancement, or creation. According to the Clean Water Act, mitigation is a sequential process that includes avoiding impacts, then minimizing impacts, and lastly, compensating for impacts.   Pothole or prairie pothole A term often used to describe the small, shallow ponds and marshes formed by Pleistocene glaciation in the grasslands of the northern United States and southern Canada. "Kettlehole" was the original term used.   Restore To return a wetland (or other natural habitat) to a close approximation of its condition prior to disturbance by modifying conditions responsible for the loss or change. Riparian area An area of streamside vegetation including the stream bank and adjoining floodplain, which is distinguishable from upland areas in terms of vegetation, soils, and topography. Saturation A condition in which all easily drained voids (pores) between soil particles are temporarily or permanently filled with water. Seep A wetland that forms in areas where groundwater discharges to the land surface, often at the base of steep slopes, but where water volume is too small to create a stream or creek. These wetlands have a perpetually saturated soil but may have little or no standing water.   Substrate The mineral or organic material that forms the bed of a body of water. Swamp Wetland area of mineral soil normally flooded in the growing season and dominated in most cases by emergent macrophytes (broad-leaved plants), shrubs, and/or trees.   Values The goods and services that come from a biological system, including wetlands and riparian areas, that benefit humans or human society.   Watershed Surface drainage area that contributes water to a lake, river, or other body of water. Wet meadow Wetland communities found where the soil is normally saturated and is covered with standing water only in spring. Sedges or grasses are the dominant species. Wetland A term generally applied to any area where the ground is temporarily, seasonally, or permanently wet and that, under normal circumstances, is occupied by water-loving or water-tolerant vegetation, such as cattails, sedges, or willows. Back to top... Questions? Comments? Contact our Webmaster