ABSTRACT
The development of wetland soil characteristics is mediated by organisms that inhabit the soil ecosystem. These organisms, in turn, are influenced by the physiochemical environment, especially climate, hydrology, and water chemistry. Wetland nutrient status, determined in part by hydrogeomorphic setting, helps determine the productivity and composition of the plant community and the soil microbial processes that characterize the system (Balasooriya et al. 2008). The biota that inhabit wetland soils drive the formation of
CONTENTS
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 133 Microorganisms ........................................................................................................................... 134
Bacteria and Archaea ............................................................................................................. 134 Fungi ........................................................................................................................................ 137
Free-Living Fungi .............................................................................................................. 137 Mycorrhizal Fungi ............................................................................................................. 137
Microorganisms and Nutrient Cycling ............................................................................... 138 Carbon ................................................................................................................................. 138 Nitrogen .............................................................................................................................. 139 Phosphorus ......................................................................................................................... 141 Iron and Manganese .......................................................................................................... 141 Sulfur ................................................................................................................................... 143
Vegetation ..................................................................................................................................... 143 Plant Adaptations to Anaerobic Soils .................................................................................. 144 Plant Adaptations to Salinity ................................................................................................ 145
Soil Fauna ..................................................................................................................................... 146 Invertebrates ........................................................................................................................... 146
Platyhelminthes (Flatworms) .......................................................................................... 147 Nematoda (Unsegmented Roundworms) ..................................................................... 147 Mollusca: Gastropoda ....................................................................................................... 147 Annelida (Segmented Worms and Leeches) .................................................................. 148 Arthropoda ......................................................................................................................... 148 Adaptations of Invertebrates to Wetland Soils .............................................................. 149
Vertebrates ............................................................................................................................... 151 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 152 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................... 152 References .................................................................................................................................... 153
hydric soil characteristics, nutrient cycling, primary and secondary production, decomposition and accumulation of organic matter, habitat quality, and biodiversity in these ecosystems (Holguin et al. 2001; Batzer et al. 2006; Van der Valk 2006).
