The Cowardin classification system is a system for
classifying wetlands, devised by Lewis M. Cowardin ''et al.'' in 1979 for the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with ot ...
. The system includes five main types of
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s:
# Marine wetlands- which are areas exposed to the open
ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...
#
Estuarine
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
wetlands- partially enclosed by land and also exposed to a mixture of fresh and salt water bodies of water
#
Riverine
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...
wetlands- associated with flowing water
#
Lacustrine
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
wetlands- associated with a
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
or other body of fresh water
#
Palustrine
Palustrine wetlands include any inland wetland that contains ocean-derived salts in concentrations of less than 0.5 parts per thousand, and is non- tidal. The word ''palustrine'' comes from the Latin word ''palus'' or marsh. Wetlands within this c ...
wetlands- freshwater wetlands not associated with a river or lake.
The primary purpose of this ecological classification system was to establish consistent terms and definitions used in inventory of wetlands and to provide standard measurements for mapping these lands.
See also
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Wetland conservation
Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas where water exists at or near the Earth's surface, such as swamps, marshes and bogs. Wetlands cover at least six per cent of the Earth and have become a focal issue for conservation ...
*
Wetlands of the United States
Wetlands of the United States are defined by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the United States Environmental Protection Agency as "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration ...
References
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;Notes
Habitats
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