Earth:Interdunal wetland

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Short description: Water-filled depression between coastal sand dunes
An interdunal wetland in wooded dunes, at Miller Woods in the Indiana Dunes National Park.

An interdunal wetland, interdunal pond or dune slack is a water-filled depression between coastal sand dunes. It may be formed either by wind erosion or by dunal encroachment on an existing wetland.[1] The wind erosion process involves wind scooping out sufficient sand to reach the water table, and typically occurs behind the first line of foredunes.[2]

Because they are typically very shallow, interdunal wetlands warm quickly, and provide an abundant source of invertebrates eaten by many species of shorebirds.[3] Many interdunal wetlands are ephemeral, drying out during periods of low rain or low water.

Interdunal wetlands are common in Great Lakes region of North America, particularly along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, such as at Indiana Dunes National Park and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.[4][5] In this region, interdunal communities are typically mildly calcareous and dominated by rushes, sedges and shrubs.[3] They are tentatively classified as G2, or globally imperiled, under the NatureServe rankings.[1][3] Many conservation efforts have been made to preserve these wetlands within the Indiana Dunes.[4][6][7]

A distinction is sometimes made between interdunal and intradunal wetlands such as pannes, which form within a single dune as part of a blowout.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (2008-10-13). "Interdunal Wetland". Natural Communities of Wisconsin. http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/er/communities/index.asp?mode=detail&Code=CPHER068WI. 
  2. Washington Department of Natural Resources. "Ecological Integrity Assessment: North Pacific Coastal Interdunal Wetland". http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/communities/pdf/eia/np_interdunal_wetland.pdf. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kost, M.A.; Albert, D.A.; Cohen, J.G.; Slaughter, B.S.; Schillo, R.K.; Weber, C.R.; Chapman, K.A. (2007). "Interdunal Wetland". Natural Communities of Michigan: Classification and Description. http://web4.msue.msu.edu/mnfi/communities/community.cfm?id=10668. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation. 
  5. "Park Brochure Formats - Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (U.S. National Park Service)" (in en). https://www.nps.gov/slbe/planyourvisit/park-brochure.htm. 
  6. Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, Smith, Stephanie; Mark, Steve. "Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes. 
  7. Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2007). The cultural impact of a museum in a small community: The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 2. "South Shore Journal - the Cultural Impact of a Museum in a Small Community: The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes". http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-2-2007/82-journals/vol-2-2007/104-the-cultural-impact-of-a-museum-in-a-small-community-the-hour-glass-in-ogden-dunes. 

See also