According to the Cowardin classification system Palustrine wetlands can also be considered the area on the side of a river or a lake, as long as they are covered by vegetation such as trees, shrubs, and emergent plants.[1]
Classification
Palustrine wetlands are one of five systems of wetlands within the Cowardin classification system. This system was created by Lewis Cowardin and others from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1987. [1] The other systems are:
Lacustrine wetlands, associated with a lake or other body of fresh water
Vegetation
The vegetation within a Palustrine system typically contains multiple species that are similar. This different groups of vegetation are aquatic bed, emergent, scrub-shrub, and forested.[1]
Aquatic bed vegetation typically includes floating-leaved plants, pondweed and waterlilies.
Emergent vegetation commonly includes cattails, bulrushes, reeds, pickerel weed, arrowheads and ferns.
Scrub-shrub wetland is dominated by woody vegetation less than 20 feet tall, such as buttonbush, alders, and many kinds of saplings.
Forested palustrine wetland is dominated by woody vegetation over 20 feet tall.