Beginning of Essay
Marshland is covered with grasses, reeds, sedges, and cattails. These plants all have their roots in soil covered or saturated with water and its leaves held above water.Marshes may be freshwater or salt. Freshwater marshes develop along the shallow edges of lakes ....

Middle of Essay
.... for snow geese and ducks, a nesting habitat for herons and rails, and a source of nutrients for estuarine waters. Marshes are important in flood control, in sustaining high-water tables, and as settling basins to reduce pollution downstream. Despite their great environmental value, marshes are continually being destroyed by drainage and filling. Marine Life, plants and animals of the sea, from the high-tide mark along the shore to the depths of the ocean. These organisms fall into three major groups: the benthos, plants such as kelp and animals such as brittle stars that live on or depend on the bottom; the nekton, swimming animals such as fishes ....