ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on biogeochemical processes that regulate the exchange of solutes and other chemical constituents between soil, water, and air in wetlands. Benthic invertebrates are important to the biodiversity of wetlands and aquatic systems, food webs, and nutrient cycling. Their distribution, density, biomass, and species diversity are influenced by vegetation density, plant species composition, water depth, and hydroperiod of wetlands. Bioturbation is a process of disruption of soils at the soil–water interface, resulting from macrobenthos burrowing/irrigation, feeding, and reworking of surficial sediments. The freshwater upwelling or submarine groundwater discharge in nearshore or coastal regions can be determined by measuring the change in salinity or conductivity of surface or groundwater. Sediment deposition can vary in wetlands and is influenced by surface inflows such as overland flow and channelized stream flow. Many methods have been used to measure accretion and sedimentation in wetlands.
