Scrub-Shrub Wetland

Scrub-Shrub Wetlands

Scrub-shrub wetlands may occur as isolated wet thickets fed by seasonal high water tables (non-tidal situations) or in tidally-fed river bank areas along coastal waterways (e.g. Spring Creek, Cedar Creek, and the St. Jones, Murderkill and Broadkill Rivers). As the name implies, shrubs are prominent in the flora, including: buttonbush, red maple, black willow, smooth alder, marsh elder, high-tide bush, and others, the mix depending on the level of salinity influence. 

Scrub-shrub wetlands help stabilize stream banks and provide cover for birds and other wildlife. Although not as strongly impacted by human activities as many other wetland habitats, certain scrub-shrub wetland subtypes (red maple/ash tidal swamps and smooth alder/silky dogwood swamps) are listed as habitats of special conservation concern in Delaware.

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 What You Can Do to Help

Wetland Benefits

Quick Links

Simple changes at home:

• Reducing or eliminating use of fertilizers and pesticides
• Never overwatering your lawn
• Picking up pet waste
• Using a mulching mower
• Landscaping with native plants
• Participating in local cleanup activities
• Removing invasive plants
• Installing a rain barrel
• Adding a rain garden to your landscape
• Reducing impervious surfaces (solid surfaces that water can not drain through) on your property

Check out our How You Can Help page!

Scrub-shrub wetlands work to purify our drinking water. When sediments and pollutants run-off from agricultural lands and private properties, these wetlands work to absorb those pollutants and replenish our drinking water supply with fresh, clean water.

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