Minerotrophic refers to environments that receive nutrients primarily through groundwater that flows through mineral-rich soils or rock,Environment Canada (2014). Ontario wetland evaluation system: Northern Manual, 1st edition, version 3.2. Queen’s printer for Ontario. or surface water flowing over land. Minerotrophic, “minerogenous”, and “geogenous” are now often used interchangeably, although the latter two terms refer primarily to

hydrological Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

systems, while the former refers to nutrient dynamics. The hydrologic process behind minerotrophic

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s results in water that has acquired dissolved chemicals which raise the nutrient levels and reduce the

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

. This in turn affects vegetation assemblages and diversity in the wetland in question.Brinson, M. M. (1993). A Hydrogeomorphic Classification for Wetlands. ''Environmental Laboratory (U.S.) & Engineer Research and Development Center (U.S.).'' Retrieved from https://erdc-library.erdc.dren.mil/jspui/bitstream/11681/6483/1/TR-WRP-DE-4.pdf If dissolved chemicals include chemical bases such as

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

s, the water is referred to as ''

base-rich In ecology, base-richness is the level of Base (chemistry), chemical bases in water or soil, such as calcium or magnesium ions. Many organisms prefer base-rich environments. Chemical bases are alkalis, hence base-rich environments are either pH, ...

'' and is

neutral Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction in ...

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

ne. In contrast to minerotrophic environments,

ombrotrophic Ombrotrophic ("cloud-fed"), from Ancient Greek ὄμβρος (''ómvros'') meaning "rain" and τροφή (''trofí'') meaning "food"), refers to Soil, soils or vegetation which receive all of their water and nutrients from precipitation, rather ...

environments get their water mainly from precipitation, and so are very low in nutrients and more acidic. Of the various wetland types,

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s and rich fens are often minerotrophic while poor fens and bogs are often ombrotrophic.

Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s may also be fed through groundwater sources to a degree.

Hydrology

The hydrological setting of a wetland strongly influences its characteristics. Chemical ions are transported to wetlands via their hydrological system, and in turn affect pH, conductivity, and nutrient levels. Chemical and nutrient dynamics may differ depending on a minerotrophic wetland’s hydrological setting, which could include water discharge dominated, recharge dominated, or some combination of both. These characteristics also vary seasonally, as average groundwater levels increase and decrease at different times of the year. This seasonality can raise water below ground or above the surface to become free standing. Additional factors such as geological conditions, soil type, and surface morphology may also influence the characteristics of a wetland in tandem with hydrological setting.

Vegetation Communities

Stable water and nutrient availability via groundwater systems allows for a diverse array of plant species to grow in minerotrophic wetlands. This also allows for

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

to accumulate provided the water does not flow too quickly. A minerotrophic wetland may be alkaline or weakly acidic, which also influences vegetation communities. Rich fens are often characterized by alkaline hydrologic conditions, allowing for more plant diversity. These areas may be dominated by brown mosses of the family

Amblystegiaceae Amblystegiaceae is a family of mosses. It includes 20 to 30 genus, genera with a total of up to 150 species.Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...

''''.'' Acidic poor fens are often dominated by peat mosses of the genus ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'' which tend to further increase acidity.

Examples

A notable example of a minerotrophic wetland is the

Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...

, a large subtropical wetland located in Western Florida, USA.{{Cite journal, last=Richardson, first=Curtis J., date=2009-08-27, title=The Everglades: North America's subtropical wetland, url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11273-009-9156-4, journal=Wetlands Ecology and Management, volume=18, issue=5, pages=517–542, doi=10.1007/s11273-009-9156-4, s2cid=23666340 , issn=0923-4861

References

Pedology

Hydrology

Vegetation Communities

Examples

See also

References