4.1.4 Swamp & marsh
The terms 'swamp' and 'marsh' have been employed in several, rarely compatible, ways.
Swamps have been defined as wetlands where the water table is normally above ground level, and marshes as wetlands where it is normally at or just below ground level, whereas the normal use of 'swamp' in the USA is to refer to a wetland dominated by trees, while 'marsh' is reserved for wetlands dominated by non- woody vegetation. These terms are, however, valuable as accepted names for well known wetland types, such as saltmarsh in coastal areas, or reedswamp to describe single-species stands of wetland grasses such as common reed (Phragmites australis).
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