CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,

THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^167

I

t is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 acres of inland freshwater marshes. Freshwater
marsh communities are found along the shores of natural and artificial ponds, beaver dams, lakes and
reservoirs; in cleared floodplains, roadside ditches, swales and depressions; within openings in swamp
forests; and in wetlands of pastures and old fields. The substrates are composed of fine textured clays,
silts or loams that have slow permeability.

This type includes one subtype: 9.1 Freshwater Marshes.

CONDITION

Many of the state's freshwater marshes were lost between the 1780's and mid 1980's due to land use
changes. Fewer marshes are available today to filter impurities, reduce runoff and recharge ground
water supplies. Mississippi wetlands have been and continue to be a source of timber and the cleared,
fertile lands have become productive farmland. Programs stemming from federal Farm Bill legislation
such as the Conservation and Wetland Reserve Programs have reduced the rate of marsh loss. The
Mississippi NHP identifies and inventories priority wetlands.

The quality of freshwater marshes has also declined due to the cumulative effects of hydrologic
changes, pollutants and exotic species. Land clearing around marshes has led to an increase in runoff,
erosion, sedimentation and water temperatures in marshes. Stream channel alterations and levees have
reduced the frequency and duration of flood interaction with marshes. Exotic plants that alter marsh
habitats and reduce species diversity, such as water hyacinth and giant salvinia, are increasingly
encountered in marshes.

9.1 Freshwater Marshes

„ Value to SGCN - 63

„ Rank - 12th of 29 Inland Terrestrial Complexes

(Terrestrial, Wetland, Subterranean and Anthropogenic)

DESCRIPTION

Throughout Mississippi, marshy habitat has been created by

9. INLAND FRESHWATER MARSHES