The Importance of Wetlands
Snapping Turtle in a marsh. Photo credit: Rachel Zylstra
Wetlands are areas that have become saturated with water for long enough that the soil has become water-logged. This wet soil allows water-loving and water-tolerant plants to take hold. Some common wetland indicator species are Black Ash, Tamarack, and White Meadowsweet.
Wetlands are found where the water table is near or at the surface. They are usually in low-lying areas or along the edges of lakes and rivers. Many wetlands are permanently flooded, while others flood only periodically in the spring or fall. Ontario has around 35,000,000 hectares or more of wetlands and though they remain common in Northern Ontario they are disappearing at a rapid rate in Southern Ontario.
Wetlands are where terrestrial and aquatic habitats intersect, as a result of this they possess a unique mixture of species, conditions and interactions. This makes wetlands among the most dynamic, biodiverse and productive ecosystems on the planet. Wetlands provide a wide variety of ecosystem services that benefit people and the environment. These benefits are essential to sustaining life!
There are four types of wetlands in Ontario; swamps, marshes, bogs and fens. Freshwater turtles can be found in a great variety of habitats, including all wetland types, lakes and rivers. Most turtles prefer shallow waters and slow currents, with soft mud at the bottom and aquatic vegetation where they can hide - something wetlands have plenty of!
Let’s learn a bit more about the four types of wetlands in Ontario!
Black Ash Swamp. Photo credit: The Land Between
Swamps
Most commonly recognized as shoreline areas of streams, lakes and floodplains, swamps are dominated by trees or shrubs. Black Spruce, Tamarack, White Birch, Balsam Poplar, Willow, Red-osier Dogwood and Speckled Alder are common plants to find in a swamp due to their high-tolerance for wet soils. Swamps are often transition areas between upland forest and other wetland areas and typically have hummocky ground that may contain pools of water. Swamps are the youngest type of wetland!
Benefits of Swamps:
Swamps moderate floods by slowing water flow
Fertile soils support an array of trees, shrubs, and other plants
Vegetation protects shoreline areas from erosion and sedimentation
The variety of swamp wetlands provide a high diversity of habitat for many species of wildlife including turtles
A marsh with emergent and floating vegetation. Photo credit: Rachel Zylstra
Marshes
Marshes are wetlands periodically inundated by standing or slowly moving water, creating nutrient-rich soil. They are dominated by Cattails, Rushes, Sedges, Grasses, Lily-pads, Pondweeds and Milfoils. Water levels fluctuate seasonally and can periodically dry out. Water sources include precipitation, run-off, groundwater and streams. They are the most biologically diverse wetland type!
Benefits of Marshes:
Marshes moderate flooding and minimize soil erosion
Vegetation filters and traps nutrients and neutralizes a number of contaminants
Vital habitat for many wildlife such as waterfowl, moose, beaver and muskrat
A Bog in Ontario. Photo credit: Turtle Guardians
Bogs
Bogs are peatlands that have deep deposits of poorly decomposed organic material (referred to as peat). They receive water and most nutrients from precipitation. Black Spruce, Sphagnum Moss, Mountain Holly, Bog Laurel and Virginia Chain Fern are Bog indicator plants. Bogs have very low plant diversity due to a lack of nutrients though lichens can be abundant! Some peatlands have been forming for 10,000 years, or since the end of the last ice age!
Benefits of Bogs:
Due to deep organic deposits, bogs store large amounts of carbon and help to moderate climate change
Important habitat for the threatened Woodland Caribou
Important water storage/recharge areas that release water in dry periods and store water in wet periods
A Fen in Ontario. Photo credit: Tara Bauer
Fens
Fens are also often found on peat, but are less acidic and richer in nutrients than bogs. Fens have deep organic deposits and are influenced by slow, lateral water movement. Often referred to as “muskeg,” fens are the most extensive wetlands in the western boreal forest. Despite the name, Bog Willow and Bog Rosemary are Fen indicator species, along with Buckbean and Sphagnum Moss. They are the oldest type of wetland making them the hardest ecosystem to replace or recreate. On average, it takes about 10 years for one centimetre of peat to form!
Benefits of Fens:
Fens transport large volumes of water and nutrients across the landscape and help to regulate water flow
They help prevent downstream flooding by absorbing precipitation and run-off
Due to deep organic deposits, fens store large amounts of carbon and help moderate climate change
They provide important habitat for Species at Risk such as caribou and turtles
Area of wetlands lost in Southern Ontario ecodistricts between 2011-2015. Image credit: www.SOBR.ca
Threats to Wetlands
Kingston lies in Ecoregion 6E, the Lake Simcoe-Rideau Ecoregion. It encompasses 6.4% (6,311,957 ha) of Ontario and extends from Lake Huron in the west to the Ottawa River in the east, and includes most of the Lake Ontario shore and the Ontario portion of the St. Lawrence River Valley. Ecoregion 6E is the second most densely populated ecoregion in Ontario, and encompasses a number of small to mid-size cities including Belleville, Kingston, Cornwall, Peterborough and Ottawa.
More than 57% of the ecoregion exists as cropland, pasture and abandoned fields. Forest cover accounts for 30% of the ecoregion with water covering only 4%. With such a small percentage of water and wetlands in this region it is critical that we protect what is left!
There are many threats that contribute to wetland loss, including:
Land conversion
Drainage for development and agriculture
Invasive species
Pollution
Climate change
Artificial modification of water levels
Increasingly, authorities are looking to wetland offsetting as a means of compensating for damage done. This is the process of constructing a wetland on another property to replace the one being destroyed by development. If done effectively, to replace already lost wetlands, wetland offsetting could be a positive force for conservation, helping to reverse the ongoing trend of wetland loss in the province. However, if done poorly and as a tool to allow development to destroy existing wetlands, it will do more harm than good. As we learned earlier, wetlands cannot be replaced overnight!
A Provincially Significant Wetland. Photo credit: Rachel Zylstra
Provincially Significant Wetlands
Wetlands are ranked to determine whether they should receive special protection as “provincially significant wetlands” (PSW). The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is responsible for determining which wetlands and wetland complexes are provincially significant. Significance is determined by the Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (OWES) which identifies and measures wetland functions, and provides a means of evaluating the relative importance of individual wetlands based on perceived societal values.
OWES generates a numerical ranking of wetland values or functions, which are grouped into four main categories:
1. Biological Component: recognizes that wetlands can differ in terms of productivity and habitat diversity
2. Social Component: measures some of the direct human uses of wetlands, including economically valuable products (such as wild rice, commercial fish and furbearers), recreational activities and educational uses
3. Hydrological Component: characterizes water-related values, such as the reduction of flood peaks and contributions to groundwater recharge and discharge, and water quality improvements
4. Special Features Component: addresses the geographic rarity of wetlands, the occurrence of rare species, ecosystem age, and habitat quality for wildlife, including fish
However, as a result of Bill 23 (More Homes Built Faster Act), which passed in November 2022, how wetlands are evaluated as provincially significant has changed. The process no longer considers the presence of endangered species to determine if a wetland is significant and no longer allows wetland that are located close to each other to be ‘complexed’ and considered as one system.
Provincially Significant Wetlands in Kingston. Image credit: City of Kingston
Kingston has 6 provincially significant wetlands within the city's boundaries:
Bayview Wetland in Amherstview
Lower Collins Creek Wetland Complex, which crosses the 401, Creekford Road and Princess Street
Little Cataraqui Creek Wetland Complex, which extends from John Counter Blvd., crossing Bath Road and ending at Front Road
Great Cataraqui Marsh, which extends from the 401 between Montreal Street and Hwy. 15 all the way down to the Inner Harbour
Butternut Creek Complex, near the north end of Gore Road
Madoma Marsh, near Treasure Island when heading east on Hwy. 2
These wetlands provide critical habitat to all five of Kingston’s native turtle species along with numerous other benefits for both humans and wildlife alike. We are so fortunate to have access to these biodiversity havens, right here in our city! We must continue to recognize the importance of these wetlands and protect them for the generations of turtles and people to come!