The GO BIG RED! Trail
For general information on this trail and its partner, the Husker Trail, CLICK HERE
This Earthcache will take you to a naturally occurring freshwater marsh. Please park at the listed coordinates and do not cross any fences. All information is publicly accessible from the road.
A marsh is a type of wetland that contains mostly herbaceous plants (such as grasses, rushes or reeds) rather than woody plants. If woody plants are present, they tend to be low-growing shrubs. They are typically found at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This form of vegetation is what makes marshes different from other types of wetlands such as swamps, which are dominated by trees, and bogs, which are wetlands that have accumulated deposits of acidic peat.
Marshes improve water quality by acting as a natural cleansing sponge, filtering sediment and chemicals through the substrate and plants before they can enter the waterway. Marshes, as well as other wetlands, aid in flood control by capturing, storing, and slowly releasing water over a long period of time, reducing the impact of floods. They can also help with atmospheric equilibrium by storing carbon within live and preserved plant biomass instead of releasing it into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The pH in marshes tends to be neutral to alkaline, as opposed to bogs, where peat accumulates under more acidic conditions.
Freshwater marshes are the most diverse form of marsh and range greatly in both size and geographic location. They make up the most common form of wetland in North America. Some examples of freshwater marsh types in North America include:
Wet Meadows
Wet meadows occur in areas such as shallow lake basins, low-lying depressions, and the land between shallow marshes and upland areas. They also occur on the edges of lakes, streams, and rivers. They usually have high plant diversity. Although they are regularly flooded, in the summer, they are often totally dry.
Vernal Pools
Vernal pools are a type of marsh that occur seasonally in shallow depressions in the land. They can be covered in shallow water, but in the summer and fall, they can be completely dry. In western North America, vernal pools tend to form in open grasslands. In the east they occur in forested landscapes. Southern vernal pools form in pine savannas and flatwoods.
Playa Lakes
Playa lakes are a form of shallow freshwater marsh that occurs in the southern high plains of the United States. Like vernal pools, they are only present at certain times of the year and generally have a circular shape. As the playa dries during the summer, conspicuous plant zones develop along the shoreline.
Prairie Potholes
Prairie potholes are found in the northern parts of North America. This area was once covered by glaciers. As a result, shallow depressions were formed in great numbers. These depressions fill with water in the spring and provide important breeding habitat for many species of waterfowl. Some pools only occur seasonally, while others retain enough water to be present all year.
Riverine Wetlands
Many kinds of marsh occur along the fringes of large rivers. The different types of marsh are produced by factors such as water levels, nutrients, ice scour, and waves.
Please send me the answers to the following questions either via the message center or direct e-mail. Do not list any answers in your log. Posting a picture of you/your group at GZ is optional but encouraged.
- What is the elevation reading at GZ?
- Using the freshwater marsh types listed above, what type is this freshwater marsh? What lead you to your conclusion?
- From your viewpoint, is there any water in the marsh today?
Sources:
Wikipedia Articles on Marshes and Wetlands
GENERAL REMINDERS: Do not cross fences, replace cache to original location, replace camo as best as possible, and don't hurt yourself! You are caching at your own risk!
**This cache was made available, prior to publication, to attendees of the Norfolk Area Fall Caching Extravaganza 2012**
