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National Water Summary Wetland Resources: Massachusetts

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National Water Summary Wetland Resources: Massachusetts National Water Summary-Wetland Resources 225 Massachusetts Wetland Resources Wtlands cover about I l percent of Massachusetts (Dahl, 1990) deepwater habitats. Wetlands of the systems that occur in Massa­ and are an important component of the State's water resources. chusetts are described below. Wetlands are valued and protected by the State for the environmen­ tal and economic benefits they provide, such as flood control, miti­ Wetland description gation of storm damage, water-quality improvement, maintenance System of ground-water supplies, wi ldlife habitat, and spawning and nurs­ Pa lustrine .................. Nontidal and tidal-freshwater wetlands in which ery habitat for many of the estuarine and marine fish and shellfish vegetation is predominantly trees (forested wet­ lands); shrubs (scrub-shrub wetlands); persistent that support the State's sport-fishing and seafood industries (fig. I). or nonpersistent emergent, erect, rooted herba­ Most wetland functions are tied to the presence, movement, qual­ ceous plants (persistent- and nonpersistent­ ity, and quantity of water in wetlands (Carter and others, I 979). For emergent wetlands); or submersed and (or) example, flood-plain wetlands along the Charles River provide natu­ floating plants (aquatic beds). Also, intermit­ tently to permanently flooded open-water bod­ ral storage and a reduction of floodwaters such that the least-cost ies of less than 20 acres in which water is less solution to prevent future flooding was to acquire and protect the than 6.6 feet deep. wetlands (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1971). Massachusetts Lacustrine ................. Nontidal and tidal-freshwater wetlands within an wetlands provide not only the functions and values for which they intermittently to permanently flooded lake or are protected by the State but other benefits such as scenic beauty reservoir larger than 20 acres and (or) deeper and recreational opportunities. The benefits that Massachusetts' than 6.6 feet. Vegetation, when present, is pre­ dominantly nonpersistent emergent plants (non­ wetlands provide are a reflection of the diversity of the State's wet­ persistent-emergent wetlands), or submersed land resources. and (or) floating plants (aquatic beds), or both. Riverine ..................... Nontidal and tidal-freshwater wetlands within a TYPES AND DISTRIBUTION channel. Vegetation, when present, is same as in the Lacustrine System. Wetlands are lands transitional between terrestrial and deep­ Estuarine ................... Tidal wetlands in low-wave-energy environments water habitats where the water table usually is at or near the land where the salinity of the water is greater than 0.5 surface or the land is covered by shallow water (Cowardin and oth­ part per thousand (ppt) and is variable owing to evaporation and the mixing of seawater and ers, 1979). The distribution of wetlands and deepwater habitats in freshwater. Massachusetts is shown in figure 2A; only wetlands are discussed Marine ....................... Tidal wetlands that are exposed to waves and cur- herein. rents of the open ocean and to water having a Wetlands can be vegetated or nonvegetated and are classified salinity greater than 30 ppt. on the basis of their hydrology, vegetation, and substrate. In this summary, wetlands are classified according to the system proposed The most recent inventory of Massachusetts wetlands, per­ by Coward in and others ( 1979), which is used by the U.S. Fish and formed during 1975-77 by the FWS National Wetlands Inventory Wildlife Service (FWS) to map and inventory the Nation's wetlands. Project, mapped about 590,000 acres of wetlands in the State (Tiner, At the most general level of the classification system, wetlands are 1992). According to Metzler and Tiner ( L992), the maps are at least grouped into five ecological systems: Palustrine, Lacustrine, Riv­ 95 percent accurate. Palustrine wetlands are the most common erine, Estuarine, and Marine. The Palustrine System includes only wetland type in the State, followed by estuarine and marine wet­ wetlands, whereas the other systems comprise wetlands and lands (fig. 28); all together, they constitute about 99 percent, by area, of the State's wetlands. The combined area of lacustrine and river­ ine wetlands makes up the remaining less than I percent of wetland acreage. A description of Massachusetts' most common wetland types follows. Palustrine wetlands.- Vegetated palustrine wetlands in Mas­ sachusetts include ponds and shallow lakes in which the dominant vegetation is floating or submersed (aquatic-bed wetlands); fresh­ water marshes, fens, and bogs dominated by herbaceous plants (emergent wetlands); and bogs and swamps dominated by shrubs or trees (scrub-shrub or forested wetlands). Vernal pools are small, seasonally flooded wetlands that occur throughout Massachusetts. Because most vernal pools dry up, they are devoid of fish and thus provide a safe breeding habitat for many amphibian and invertebrate species. Palustrine forested wetlands constitute 56 percent of the State's wetlands (Tiner, 1992) and consist primarily of red maple swamps with some evergreen forested wetlands. Red maple grows in most Figure 1. Namskaket Marsh on Cape Cod. This inland wetlands because it tolerates a wide range of flooding and wetland is the site of U.S. Geological Survey studies that monitor the development and fate of a wastewater soil-saturation conditions (Metzler and Tiner, 1992). The vegeta­ plume moving toward this tidal wetland. (Photograph tion found with red maple, in the understory and intermixed or courtesy of Kelsey-Kennard Photographers, Chatham, codominating in the canopy, differs according to nutrient conditions Mass.) and water regime. Atlantic white cedar wetlands, the most common 226 National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: STATE SUMMARIES 0 10 20 30 MILES 0 10 20 30 KILOMETERS , ;.,· I ~, . ' · A WETLANDS AND DEEPWATER HABITATS Distribution of wetlands and deepwater habitats- This map shows the approximate distribution of large wetlands in the State. Because of limitations of scale and source material, some wetlands are not shown • Predominantly wetland Predominantly deepwater habitat Marine wetlands 6.6 percent (38,7001 Estuarine wetlands / 13.4 percent (79,300) Green Mountain Section _.. Lacustrine and I ' Connecticut I ? riverine wetlands Y, Vanoy Lowland \ 0.7 percent (4,270 acres) I I ' I 'I I I Palustrine wetlands I New England I 79.3 percent ~ r I (468,000 acres) \ Province I I I ''I New England 8 RELATIVE AND ACTUAL ACREAGE Upland Section OF WETLAND TYPES IN MASSACHUSETIS I ....,f~1l Coastal Plain ~-~~ PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS C STRATIFIED-DRIFT DEPOSITS Stratified-drift deposits Figure 2. Wetland distribution and types in Massachusetts and physical features that control wetland distribution in the State. A, Distribution of wetlands and deepwater habitats. B, Relative area of wetland types in the mid-1 970's. C, Area covered by stratified-drift deposits. D, Physiography. (Sources: A, TE. Dahl, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, unpub. data, 1991. B, Tiner, 1992. C, B.D. Stone, U.S. Geological Survey, written commun., 1991. D, Physiographic divisions from Fenneman, 1946; landforms data from EROS Data Center.) ... National Water Summary-Wetland Resources: MASSACHUSETTS 227 evergreen forested wetlands, are concentrated south of Boston and lands are adapted to low-nutrient conditions. Kettle ponds in the form isolated wetlands in western and north-central Massachusetts Coastal Plain provide a habitat for plants that grow only on the ex­ and in the Connecticut River Valley (Sorrie and Woolsey, 1987). posed, sandy shores of nutrient-poor, acidic ponds and require sea­ Lacustrine and riverine wetlands.-Although present through­ sonal water-table fluctuations (Henry Woolsey, Natural Heritage and out the State, lacustrine and riverine wetlands comprise only a small Endangered Species Program, written commun., 1993). percentage of Massachusetts' wetland area. These freshwater wet­ Glacial lakes occupied the Connecticut Valley Lowland and lands generally are restricted to the littoral zone between the shore Seaboard Lowland of Massachusetts, depositing extensive areas of and deepwater habitat and, if vegetated, have only aquatic-bed or flat, nearly impermeable stratified drift (Schafer and Hartshorn, nonpersistent emergent vegetation. The majority of riverine wetlands 1965). Impermeable stratified drift that was deposited in a marine occur adjacent to the Connecticut River (Tiner, 1992). Wetlands in environment underlies areas of the Seaboard Lowland to the north the shallows of rivers or lakes are classified as palustrine wetlands of and surrounding Boston (Stone and Peper, 1982). These coastal if there is persistent emergent vegetation present. areas were depressed by the weight of glacial ice to beneath even Estuarine and marine wetlands.-Estuarine and marine wet­ the lowered sea level but rose rapidly after deglaciation to expose lands account for 20 percent of the State's total wetland acreage. In marine sediments. The low relief and impermeable materials of these Massachusetts, marine wetlands consist of exposed intertidal flats areas slow the drainage of surface-water, promoting the formation and beaches and minor acreages of rocky shores and aquatic beds. and maintenance of wetlands. Sources of water for these wetlands Estuarine wetlands consist of salt and brackish marshes (emergent include precipitation, ground-water discharge, and river overflow. and scrub-shrub wetlands) that have developed behind coastal dunes
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