Wetlands

According to the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are natural or artificial areas consisting of swamps with woody vegetation, swamps that are not supplied exclusively by rainwater with a peaty substrate, made of peaty land or water. These areas are permanently or temporarily flooded by water that could be either standing or running, fresh, brackish or salty. Wetlands are one of the most precious resources on our planet. They support long food chains, which form complex food webs.

There are several ways of classifying wetlands, e.g. depending on the flowing or stagnant nature of the water, the salinity of the water, their proximity to the sea, their substrate, whether they are natural or artificial, etc. The general categories into which wetlands are usually divided in Greece are: deltas, marshes, lakes, lagoons, springs, estuaries, rivers, artificial lakes.