Biological Productivity of Wetlands

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Georgia

 

Wetlands are some of the most biological productive natural ecosystems in the world, comparable to tropical rain forests and coral reefs in their productivity and the diversity of species they support. Abundant vegetation and shallow water provide diverse habitats for fish and wildlife. Aquatic plant life flourishes in the nutrient-rich environment, and energy converted by the plants is passed up the food chain to fish, waterfowl, and other wildlife and to us as well. This function supports valuable commercial fish and shellfish industries.

 

"In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it and over it."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe