may also be included in this category if they exceed 2 m in depth, or if they have exposed or wave-formed shorelines, 4. Riverine (along rivers and streams): Riverine systems include all wetlands and deep- water habitats contained within a channel, except for wetlands dominated by vegetation made up of trees, shrubs, persistent emergent, emergent mosses, or lichens or habitats with ocean-derived brackish water. 5. Palustrine (‘marshy’ — marshes, swamps, and bogs): Palustrine systems include all nontidal wetlands dominated by trees, shrubs, persistent emergent, emergent mosses or lichens, and any such areas within tidal systems where occan-derived salinities are less than 0.05%. (Cowardin, 1985). ‘The Ramsar Convention classified as natural water bodies and manmade wetlands. In India, the former one consists of rivers, lakes, coastal lagoons, mangroves, peat land, coral reefs; and later one constitutes ponds, farm ponds, irrigated fields, sacred groves, salt pans, reservoirs, gravel pits, sewage farms and canals as the wetland ecosystem. 1.2 IMPORTANCE OF WETLAND: According to Ramsar, 2014, “Wetlands are vital for human survival and they are among the world’s most productive environments; cradles of biological diversity that provide the water and productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival” Principally, wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, i.c., Water purification, Food control, Carbon sink, Cultural significance and Shoreline stability. ‘Wetlands improve water quality by trapping sediments, filtering out pollutants and absorbing, nutrients that would otherwise result in poor water quality for downstream users. They may also be linked to groundwater resources, Wetlands cover about 9% of the earth’s surface and are estimated to contain around 35% of global terrestrial carbon, Wetlands act as sinks for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, especially if their vegetation is protected and their natural processes are maintained More than one-third of the threatened and endangered species live only in wetlands, and nearly half use wetlands at some point in their lives. Many other animals and plants depend on wetlands for survival. Estuarine and marine fish and shellfish, various birds and certain mammals must have coastal wetlands to survive. Most commercial and game fish breed and raise their young in coastal marshes and estuaries. Menhaden, flounder, sea trout, spot, croaker and striped bass are among the more familiar fish that depend on coastal wetlands. Chapter 1 2 Introduction