The forest clears and I step into a wide-open space, white snow covering the floor and shrubs poking up from beneath. I step out onto the pure white snow and a hollow crunching sound emanates from beneath my feet. Ice: I must be standing in a wetland area. My friend and I proceed more carefully to the center of the wetland, where he immediately finds a tree partially gnawed through by a beaver. While he is marveling over that, I sit down and look at the open area, an amphitheater showcasing the huge magnitude of biological processes happening just beneath me.
As dirty and as unappealing as most wetlands look, the water in them is some of the cleanest on the planet. This is primarily because of plant uptake of water. The huge number of plants, ranging from small ferns like cattails to larger, wooded trees like tamarack (both of which I could identify) mean a lot of water is being taken up by the plants. With that water come nutrients and other substances absorbed into the water molecule. The three major nutrients plants need to survive are nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium; thus, these are the primary components of fertilizer. If a wetland is situated near an over fertilized farm, the plants in the wetland are going to be able to help mitigate the amount of excess fertilizer that could find its way into drinking water supplies, or otherwise sensitive areas where a nutrient imbalance could throw off an entire ecosystem.
Many wetland plants are able to absorb even more toxic substance, including generally toxic metals such as cadmium and lead. Woody plants, like the tamarack, are able to hold these toxic substances for long periods of time. However, herbaceous plants and macrophytes tend to absorb more water in a shorter amount of time. With this knowledge mitigation and prevention strategies could be implemented in high risk contamination areas, like factories, mines or farms.
I slowly come to the realization that plants are perhaps the most tough, robust, and successful organisms on earth. They sit in the cold, frozen ground, perhaps filled with toxic chemicals that humans inadvertently put there, and survive to grow and multiply when spring timidly reveals its head. I sit in my huge puffy jacket, thinking about my cold toes and how good fresh water is going to taste when I’m home. Perspective.
Trevor Livingston
