Vocabulary:
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Aerenchyma: a “spongy” tissue in certain aquatic plants, consisting of thin-walled cells and
large intercellular spaces adapted for internal circulation of air.
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Anaerobic: absence of oxygen
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Cattails: Tall marsh plants with seeds embedded in the thick, brown tops of the plant.
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Example: the soil is the substrate of most seed plants
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Hydric: characterized by, relating to, or requiring an abundance of moisture
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Hydrophyte: any macrophyte or plant that grows in water or on a substrate that is at least
periodically deficient in oxygen as a result of excessive water content
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Hydrophytic: “water loving”
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Macroinvertebrate: Invertebrates (without a backbone) that can be seen without a microscope.
These are a vital source of food for birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
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Polymorphic: two or more
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Prairie Pothole Region: a 300,000 square mile area of rolling hills of Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa carved by the Wisconsinan glaciar.
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Rushes: Plants with hollow stems that may have a pithy (sponge-like) center.
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Seasonal Wetlands: Depressions that usually contain water from the time of snowmelt until the
middle of July. Consist of two vegetation zones.
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Sedges: Look like grasses except they have solid, triangular stems.
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Semi-permanent wetlands: Basins that generally hold water all year except during very dry
years.
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Substrate: the base on which an organism lives
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Temporary wetlands: Shallow depressions that hold water from melting snow or heavy rain.
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Watershed: an area of land that drains downward to the lowest point
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Wetland: a basin, or low area of land that holds water or has saturated soils all or part of the
year.