ABSTRACT
In frigid climates, frost disappearance in the spring is another hydrological process that impacts water table position, nutrient cycling, and tree harvest operability. Hydrological processes in forested wetlands include the movement and behavior of water through the wetland. The source of water delivered to wetlands and water behavior in wetland ecosystems are our best foundations for interpreting biological and chemical processes in wetlands. Two conditions are necessary for wetland formation, a physiography or climate that is conducive to slow water movement and water available at the earth’s surface. Suitable physiography includes flat areas such as glacial lake beds, sandy outwash plains, and river flood plains. Water enters wetlands as precipitation, runoff from surrounding mineral soils, diffuse groundwater inflow, defined flow from springs, the ebb and flood of tides, and river floodwater. The excess of water entering the wetland over evapotranspiration from the wetland occurs as either streamflow or groundwater recharge.
