Home / Ecology & Palaeoenvironment / Wetland Plant Communities

J.S. Aber, T. Eddy, F. Pavri, and R. Sleezer, Earth Science Department, Emporia State University, Kansas:
Wetland Environments. An interdisciplinary overview of physical, biological and cultural aspects of wetlands. Definitions, classifications, origins, and natural processes of wetland environments. Wetlands in boreal, temperate, and tropical climatic settings. See also:
Wetland Soils in the U.S.
Websites outdated. The link is to versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

American Meteorological Society (website supported by the National Science Foundation): Water in the Earth System Learning Files. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

G. Barth et al. (2014): Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) brackish to freshwater habitats at a fluvial-dominated delta plain (Seinstedt, Lower Saxony, Germany). In PDF, Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 94. See also here.

! A.R. Bashforth et al. (2021): The environmental implications of upper Paleozoic plant-fossil assemblages with mixtures of wetland and drought-tolerant taxa in tropical Pangea. Geobios, 68: 1–45. See also here.
Note fig. 2: Distribution of wetland and dryland biomes in late Paleozoic landscapes of equatorial Pangea.

A. Bashforth et al. (2016): A Middle Pennsylvanian macrofloral assemblage from wetland deposits in Indiana (Illinois Basin): a taxonomic contribution with biostratigraphic, paleobiogeographic, and paleoecologic implications. In PDF, Journal of Paleontology, 90: 589–631.

A.R. Bashforth et al. (2010): Vegetation heterogeneity on a Late Pennsylvanian braided-river plain draining the Variscan Mountains, La Magdalena Coalfield, northwestern Spain. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

Biology Online. Biology Online aims to educate and promote awareness of all things biology, offering free and easy access to information in the biological sciences. Go to:
Freshwater Ecology.

The Biomes Group, Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), University of California at Berkeley: The World's Biomes. This is an introduction to the major biomes on Earth.

Jamie Boyer, The New York Botanical Garden: The Paleoplant Website. An educational resource for students and teachers studying Earth's history, fossils, and evolution.
! Go to: Ecological Concepts. Lecture notes and Power Point presentations.
See especially: Wetland Plants and Ecology. In PDF.

D.W. Bressler and M.J. Paul: Effects of eutrophication on wetland ecosystems. In PDF.

M.M. Brinson (2011): Classification of wetlands. Abstract.

Stephen P. Broker, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: Connecticut´s Freshwater Wetlands.

L.A. Buatois et al. (2016): The Mesozoic Lacustrine Revolution. Abstract, The Trace-Fossil Record of Major Evolutionary Events, Series Topics in Geobiology, 40: 179-263.
! See also here (in PDF).

Central European University, Budapest, Homepages of students:
World Wetlands Day 2004, Wetlands Types and Classifications.
Websites outdated. Links lead to versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! C.B. Cecil et al, (1985): Paleoclimate controls on late Paleozoic sedimentation and peat formation in the central Appalachian Basin (USA). In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 5: 195-230.
See also here.
Note fig. 9: Interpreted depositional settings of the Upper Freeport coal bed and associated rocks.

! A. Channing and D. Edwards (2013): Wetland megabias: ecological and ecophysiological filtering dominates the fossil record of hot spring floras. In PDF, Palaeontology, 56: 523–556. See also here (abstract).

A. Channing and D. Edwards (2009): Yellowstone hot spring environments and the palaeoecophysiology of Rhynie chert plants: towards a synthesis. In PDF, Plant Ecology & Diversity. See also here.

! C.J. Cleal et al. (2012): Plant biodiversity changes in Carboniferous tropical wetlands. In PDF, Earth-Science Reviews, 114: 124-155.
See also here.
"... Using a combination of species richness, polycohort and constrained cluster analyses, the plant biodiversity of Pennsylvanian (late Carboniferous) tropical wetlands (“coalswamps”) has been investigated in five areas in Western Europe and eastern North America ..."

Andrew S. Cohen (2003): Paleolimnology: The History and Evolution of Lake Systems. Provided by Google books.
! See also here. In PDF, 33 MB (slow download).

C. Coiffard et al. (2012): Rise to dominance of angiosperm pioneers in European Cretaceous environments , Abstract. See also here (ScienceBlog.com) and there (Zeenews.com).

! M.E. Collinson (2002): The ecology of Cainozoic ferns. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 119: 51-68.
See also here.
! Note table 1: Summary of key conclusions concerning the ecology of Cenozoic ferns.

! L.M. Cowardin (1979): Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. In PDF. See also here (Google books).

S. Dai et al. (2020): Recognition of peat depositional environments in coal: A review. Open access, International Journal of Coal Geology, 219.

! S. Dai et al. (2021): Modes of occurrence of elements in coal: A critical evaluation. Free access, Earth-Science Reviews, 222.

Timothy M. Demko et al. (2005): Mesozoic Lakes of the Colorado Plateau. In PDF, Geological Society of America, Field Guide 6.
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

D.L. Dilcher et al. (2009): A climatic and taxonomic comparison between leaf litter and standing vegetation from a Florida swamp woodland. Open access, American Journal of Botany, 96: 1108-1115.

W.A. DiMichele et al. (2017): Vegetational zonation in a swamp forest, Middle Pennsylvanian, Illinois Basin, U.S.A., indicates niche differentiation in a wetland plant community. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 487: 71–92. See also here.

! W.A. DiMichele (2014): Wetland-Dryland Vegetational Dynamics in the Pennsylvanian Ice Age Tropics. Int. J. Plant Sci., 175: 123-164. See also here (in PDF).
Large Sigillaria stump cast on PDF page 12 (fig. 8).
! Reconstructions of coal swamps and some dryland plant reconstructions with Cordaitalean trees Walchian conifers.

! W.A. DiMichele et al. (2007): Ecological gradients within a Pennsylvanian mire forest. In PDF Geology, 35: 415–418.
See also here.
"... we report the discovery of a spectacular fossil forest preserved over -1000 ha
[...] The forest was abruptly drowned when fault movement dropped a segment of coastal mire below sea level. ..."

! W.A. DiMichele and T.L. Phillips (1996): Clades, ecological amplitudes, and ecomorphs: phylogenetic effects and persistence of primitive plant communities in the Pennsylvanian-age tropical wetlands. PDF file, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 127: 83-105.
See also here.

! W.A. DiMichele and T.L. Phillips 1994): Paleobotanical and paleoecological constraints on models of peat formation in the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 106: 39-90.
See also here.

dmoz, Open Directory Project:
Science: Biology: Ecology: Ecosystems. Search results: Wetlands.

N.C. Emery et al. (2001): Competition and salt-marsh plant zonation: stress tolerators may be dominant competitors. PDF file, Ecology, 82: 471-2485.
See also here.

Student Presentations, Earth Science Emporia State University: Wetland Environments.

EnchantedLearning.com: All About Nature, Biomes - Habitats.

! Encyclopedia of Earth (supported by the Environmental Information Coalition and the National Council for Science and the Environment). Expert-reviewed information about the Earth. For everyone, please take notice. The scope of the Encyclopedia of Earth is the environment of the Earth broadly defined, with particular emphasis on the interaction between society and the natural spheres of the Earth. Excellent! Go to:
Biomes.

The Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Program (ETE), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
The Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems Program investigates Earth´s land biotas throughout their 400 million year history. Their goal is to understand how terrestrial ecosystems have been structured and how they change over geologic time. Using the fossil record, ETE scientists study the characteristics of ecological communities and the changing dynamics of ecosystems. Go to:
ETE Relational Database and ETE DataNet.
The ETE relational database is now partially united with the Paleobiology Database Project´s (PBDB) relational database. All primary database functions (queries, entries and updates) are available through the PBDB home page. The new combined database compiles information from the terrestrial and marine record, but lacks some of the data fields present in the original ETE database.

Federal Geographic Data Committee (2013): Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States. In PDF, adapted from Cowardin, Carter, Golet and LaRoe (1979).

T.J. Flowers et al. (2010): Evolution of halophytes: multiple origins of salt tolerance in land plants. PDF file, Functional Plant Biology, 37: 604-612.
This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Friends of the Everglades, Miami, Florida: A selection of online resources for everglades information.
Now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

R.A. Gastaldo and T.M. Demko (2011): The relationship between continental landscape evolution and the plant-fossil record: long term hydrologic controls on preservation. In PDF, Taphonomy: 249-285.
See also here.

R.A. Gastaldo et al. (2009): Ecological persistence in the Late Mississippian (Serpukhovian, Namurian A) megafloral record of the Upper Silesian Basin, Czech Republic. PDF file, Palaios, 24: 336-350.
See likewise here.

R.A. Gastaldo et al. (2004): Community heterogeneity of Early Pennsylvanian peat mires. Abstract.

J.E. Gordon et al. (2023): Valuing the Quaternary – Nature conservation and geoheritage. Open access, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 134: 375–387.

! S.F. Greb et al. (2022): Prehistoric Wetlands. PDF file, p. 23-32. In: T. Mehner and K. Tockner (eds.): Encyclopedia of Inland Waters.
! Note figure 3: Wetlands through time (data are based on flora and fauna). Highlights in the evolution of wetlands.

S.F. Greb et al. (2006): Evolution and Importance of Wetlands in Earth History. PDF file, In: DiMichele, W.A., and Greb, S., eds., Wetlands Through Time: Geological Society of America, Special Publication, 399: 1-40.
Rhacophyton and Archaeopteris in a Devonian wetland as well as Pennsylvanian, Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous wetland plant reconstructions.
Note figure 1: Evolution of wetland types in the Silurian and Devonian.
See also here.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

M. Grey and Z.V. Finkel (2011): The Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage site: a review of recent research. In PDF. Carboniferous forest reconstruction on page 192.

Home Ground (by Trinity University Press): A searchable, definitive database of 850 American landscape term. Go to:
! All Definitions. Excellent!
See for example:
Alluvial Fan
Crevasse
Lacustrine Deposit
Overbank deposit.
Website outdated. These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! The Interactive Geology Project (by Paul Weimer et al., Energy and Minerals Applied Research Center, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, University of Colorado.
The goal of this website is producing short 3D animations about the geologic evolution of key US national parks. Go to: ! Video Library. Excellent!
See especially (scroll down): "Triassic Thickets: Placerville, Colorado, 225 Million Years Ago."
This scene shows the plants developed on a broad coastal plain in western Colorado near Placerville. Plants depicted: Neocalamites, Sanmiguelia. This version is part of a joint project between the Interactive Geology Project at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. See also here.

International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC): World Lakes Database.

Irish Peatland Conservation Council: Peatland around the World. A virtual trip, sorted by continent and countries. Website saved by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! W.J. Junk et al. (1989): The flood pulse concept in river-floodplain systems. PDF file, in: Dodge, D.P. (ed.): Canadian special publication Fish. Aquat. Sci., 106: 110-127.

! K. Kathiresan and B.L. Bingham (2001): Biology of mangroves and mangrove ecosystems. In PDF, Advances in marine biology, 40: 81-251.
See also here.

! C. King (2022):
Exploring Geoscience across the globe. In PDF (42 MB), Excellent!
Provided by The International Geoscience Education Organisation (IGEO). Chapters that may be of interest:
Chapter 3.2 (starting on pdf-page 30): e.g. Relative dating, Absolute dating.
Chapter 4.1.2.2 (starting on pdf-page 56): e.g. Sedimentary processes.
Chapter 4.3 (starting on pdf-page 115): e.g. Atmospheric change.
Chapter 4.4.1 (starting on pdf-page 122): e.g. Evolution.

A.A. Klymiuk and B.A. Sikes (2019): Suppression of root-endogenous fungi in persistently inundated Typha roots. Free access, Mycologia. See also:
ScienceDaily (2019): Fungi living in cattail roots could improve our picture of ancient ecoystems.

T. Koff and E. Vandel (2008): Spatial distribution of macrofossil assemblages in surface sediments of two small lakes in Estonia. In PDF, Estonian Journal of Ecology, 57: 5-20.

E.A. Kowalski and D.L. Dilcher (2002): Warmer paleotemperatures for terrestrial ecosystems. In PDF, PNAS, 100: 167-170.

E.E. Levi et al. (2014): Similarity between contemporary vegetation and plant remains in the surface sediment in Mediterranean lakes. In PDF, Freshwater Biology, 59: 724-736.

Sonjia Leyva, College of Natural & Social Sciences, Department of Geosciences and Environment, California State University, Los Angeles:
The Geophile Pages. These pages are designed to help everyone explore the wonders of geology and oceanography. Go to:
CSULA Beach Trip.
The field trip focus on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, to convey a basic introduction to the Geology of the Southern Calfornia area.

C.M. Liutkus et al. (2010): Use of fine-scale stratigraphy and chemostratigraphy to evaluate conditions of deposition and preservation of a Triassic Lagerstätte, south-central Virginia. In PDF, J. Paleolimnol. 44: 645-666.

A.C. Mancuso and C.A. Marsicano (2008): Paleoenvironments and taphonomy of a Triassic lacustrine system (Los Rastros Formation, central-western Argentina). In PDF, Palaios, 23: 535–547. See also here.

C. Martín-Closas and J. Galtier (2005): Plant taphonomy and paleoecology of Late Pennsylvanian intramontane wetlands in the Graissessac-Lodève basin (Languedoc, France). In PDF, Palaios, 20: 249–265. See also here.

C. Martín-Closas (2003): The fossil record and evolution of freshwater plants: a review. PDF file, Geologica Acta, 1: 315-338.

J. Marugán-Lobón et al. (2022): The Las Hoyas Lagerstätte: a palaeontological look to an Early Cretaceous wetland. Open access, Journal of the Geological Society.
See also here (in PDF).
"... The site has yielded a particularly diverse assemblage of more than twenty thousand plant and animal fossils, many of which present unprecedented soft-tissue preservation, including microstructural details. Among the most significant discoveries are the oldest angiosperms, ..."

J. McCoy et al. (2022): Middle Miocene (Serravallian) wetland development on the northwest edge of Europe based on palynological analysis of the uppermost Brassington Formation of Derbyshire, United Kingdom. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,Palaeoecology, 603.
See also here.

S. McLoughlin and C. Strullu-Derrien (2015): Biota and palaeoenvironment of a high middle-latitude Late Triassic peat-forming ecosystem from Hopen, Svalbard archipelago. PDF file, in: Kear B.P. et al. (eds): Mesozoic Biotas of Scandinavia and its Arctic Territories. Geol. Soc. London Spec. Pub., 434: 87–112.
See also here.

B.A. Middleton (ed, 2012): Global Change and the Function and Distribution of Wetlands. Table of contents.

Kamal Roslan Mohamed, Jabatan Geologi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia:
Hydrology of freshwater lakes. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

! I.P. Montañez (2016): A Late Paleozoic climatewindow of opportunity. In PDF, PNAS, 113: 2334-2336. See also here.

P. David Polly, Department of Geological Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN:
Historical Geology. Life through time. Lecture notes. Topics are paleontology, geologic time, biological evolution, plate tectonics, ancient environments, and climate change, principles of interpreting earth history from geological data, etc. Go to:
Lecture 2: Rocks, the earth's historical record,
Lecture 6: Coming Down: Sedimentary Rocks and Depositional Environments,
Lecture 7: Lakes, Rivers, Wind and Ice: Deposition on Land ,
Lecture 8: Deltas, shores, and reefs: Deposition at Sea . Lecture slides (PDF files).
Websites outdated. Links lead to versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

A.C. Ribeiro et al. (2021): Towards an actualistic view of the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte paleoenvironment: a new hypothesis as an Early Cretaceous (Aptian) equatorial and semi-arid wetland. Abstract, Earth-Science Reviews, 216.
"... The Aptian Crato Formation of the Lower Cretaceous Santana Group [...] Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil, is renowned worldwide owing to its exceptionally preserved fossils
[...] Most fossils are to be considered autochthonous to parautochthonous and have been preserved in distinct stages of base-level fluctuations within a shallow lacustrine depositional system, subject to periodic flooding in large, depressed areas ..."

L.F. Rinehart et al. (2015): Plant architecture and spatial structure of an early Permian woodland buried by flood waters, Sangre de Cristo Formation, New Mexico. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

Lindsay Rogers, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission:
Water & Wetlands. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

A.R. Schmidt and D.L. Dilcher (2007): Aquatic organisms as amber inclusions and examples from a modern swamp forest. Free access, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 104: 16581-16585.

! D. Schnurrenberger et al. (2003): Classification of lacustrine sediments based on sedimentary components. In PDF, Journal of Paleolimnology.

S. Sen (2016): Review on coal petrographic indices and models and their applicability in paleoenvironmental interpretation. Abstract, Geosciences Journal. See also here.

S.S.T. Simon et al. (2018): An exhumed fine-grained meandering channel in the lower Permian Clear Fork Formation, north-central Texas: Processes of mud accumulation and the role of vegetation in channel dynamics. In PDF, Int. Assoc. Sedimentol., Spec. Publ., 48: 149–172.
See also here.
"... weakly laminated mudstone with desiccation cracks contains leaves and seeds of Evolsonia texana, marattialean foliage and Taeniopteris sp., with root traces penetrating the leaves. ..."

B.J. Slater et al. (2013): Peronosporomycetes (Oomycota) from a Middle Permian Permineralised Peat within the Bainmedart Coal Measures, Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Open Courseware.
Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. No registration required. Go to:
John Southard: Special Topics in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences: The Environment of the Earth´s Surface. PDF files.
The course combines aspects of geology, climatology, hydrology, and soil science to present a coherent introduction to the surface of the Earth.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Open Courseware. Free lecture notes, exams, and videos from MIT. No registration required. Go to:
John Southard: Special Topics in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences: The Environment of the Earth´s Surface. PDF files. The course combines aspects of geology, climatology, hydrology, and soil science to present a coherent introduction to the surface of the Earth. Go to: Rivers (PDF file), and Lakes (PDF file).

STRATA (provided by Society for Sedimentary Geology, SEPM).
SEPM’s stratigraphy open access web site is dedicated to helping people understand sedimentary geology, from the basics to the detailed. Superbly done! See especially:
Sediments & Rocks.
Depositional Analogues.
Paleontology.

! G.W. Stull et al. (2012): Palaeoecology of Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri, and its implications for resolving the paradox of "xeromorphic" plants in Pennsylvanian wetlands. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 331-332: 162-176.
See also here.

K.H. Taffs et al. (2012): The evolution of a coastal peatland at Byron Bay, Australia: multi-proxy evidence from the microfossil record. In PDF.

K. Thomas et al. (2016): Formation of Kinneyia via shear-induced instabilities in microbial mats. In PDF, Phil. Trans. R. Soc., A 371. See also here.
"Kinneyia are a class of microbially mediated sedimentary fossils. Characterized by clearly defined ripple structures, Kinneyia are generally found in areas that were formally littoral habitats and covered by microbial mats".

A.M. Trendell et al. (2013): Determining Floodplain plant distributions and populations using paleopedology and fossil root traces: Upper Triassic Sonsela Member of the Chinle Formation at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Abstract, Palaios.

UniServity, UK: Oxbow Lake Formation. This Flash slide show renders a detailed five step analysis of oxbow lake formation.

G.J. Vermeij and L. Dudley (2000): Why are there so few evolutionary transitions between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems? In PDF, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 70: 541-554.

Elizabeth Anne Viau, Charter College of Education, California State University, Los Angeles: World Builders, Session Eight, Terrestrial Botany, Plants on Land. Go to: Introduction to Biomes.

K. Vogt et al. (2007): Seed deposition in drift lines: Opportunity or hazard for species establishment? Aquatic Botany, 86: 385-392.

B.G. Warner (1988): Methods in Quaternary Ecology# 3. Plant Macrofossils. In PDf, Geoscience Canada.

E. Weiher and P.A. Keddy (1995): The assembly of experimental wetland plant communities. PDF file, Oikos.
Available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
! Wetland classification.
Palustrine wetland.
River.
Fluvial processes.
Lake.

D.A. Willard and T.M. Cronin (2007): Paleoecology and ecosystem restoration: case studies from Chesapeake Bay and the Florida Everglades. Free access, Front Ecol. Environ., 5: 491-498.

! C.J. Williams (2011): A Paleoecological Perspective on Wetland Restoration. In PDF, go to PDF page 67. In: B.A. LePage (ed.): Wetlands. Integrating Multidisciplinary Concepts.
See also here.
Note especially PDF page 77: "wood".

S.L. Wing (1984): Relation of paleovegetation to geometry and cyclicity of some fluvial carbonaceous deposits. PDF file, Journal of Sedimentary Research, 54: 52–66.
See also here.
"... lenticular bodies that truncate underlying mudstone layers. These are interpreted as having formed in abandoned sections of channels.
[...] Deposits of the second type are tabular, as much as 10 km in lateral extent, and rest conformably on other floodplain sediment. These units show a cyclic arrangement ..."

S.L. Wing and W.A. DiMichele (1995): Conflict between Local and Global Changes in Plant Diversity through Geological Time. PDF file, Palaios, 10: 551-564. See also here (abstract).

E. Wohl (2021): An integrative conceptualization of floodplain storage. Free access, Reviews of Geophysics, 59: e2020RG000724. https://doi. org/10.1029/2020RG000724
Note figure 1: Schematic illustration of floodplain storage timespans.
Figure 2: Geomorphic-unit spatial heterogeneity of topography and substrate within a floodplain reach.

! E. Wohl (2013): Floodplains and wood. Abstract, Earth-Science Reviews, 123: 194–212.

G. Worobiec and E. Worobiec 2019): Wetland vegetation from the Miocene deposits of the Belchatów Lignite Mine (central Poland). In PDF, Palaeontologia Electronica, https://doi.org/10.26879/871.

! P.H. Zedler (2003): Vernal pools and the concept of "isolated wetlands". In PDF, Wetlands, 23: 597-607. See also here.