在奥克弗诺基国家野生动物保护区划独木舟 Canoe paddling in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia (© Brad Beck/Tandem Stills + Motion)

在奥克弗诺基国家野生动物保护区划独木舟 Canoe paddling in Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia (© Brad Beck/Tandem Stills + Motion)

一片平静的水域 Serene waters on a 'trembling earth'

美国湿地月

五月是美国湿地月，旨在关注湿地在当地和全球生态系统的重要性。湿地值得我们去关注，这些多样性生态系统有固碳功能，改善水质，并为至少三分之一的濒危物种提供栖息地。然而如今，湿地自身也面临威胁。美国本土48个州的2.21亿英亩湿地，超半数已遭到破坏。

奥克弗诺基沼泽是一个繁茂的湿地，也是北美现存最大的黑水生态系统。这里有几十种鸟类，还有许多两栖动物、爬行动物及其他小型生物。奥克弗诺基这个名字来自于原住民的语言，意思是“震颤的大地”。

American Wetlands Month

It's American Wetlands Month, a time to celebrate swamps, marshes, bogs, and other types of these important ecosystems. Wetlands play a vital role in storing carbon, improving water quality, and serving as habitat for many endangered plants and animals, including American crocodiles and whooping cranes. And yet, wetlands are threatened. Over the centuries, they have been drained to provide land for farming, industry, and housing. Pollution and invasive plants pose further threats. Since the late 1700s, more than half of the 221 million acres of wetlands that once existed in the 48 contiguous states have disappeared.

Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, seen here, is a thriving wetland that is home to dozens of bird species, American alligators. and other critters. It is also the largest blackwater swamp in North America—the water appears almost black due to tannins from decaying vegetation. All looks calm in our homepage image, but the swamp gets its name from a Native American word that is often translated as 'trembling earth' or 'bubbling water.'