Nutrients
Permanently waterlogged soil is normally very deficient in nitrate, because rates of decomposition of organic matter, and therefore of remineralisation of nutrients, are severely reduced in the absence of oxygen, and because of denitrification by anaerobic bacteria. Seasonally flooded wetlands, on the other hand, go through a drying period when decomposition and nitrification can occur, releasing nutrients back into the system. Fringe wetlands bathed by water with a relatively rapid turnover will have a constantly replenished nutrient supply and can be very nutrient rich.
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