Designed as a textbook, this volume is an important, up-to-date, authoritative, and accessible survey in ecology of freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Prominent wetland scholars address the physical environment, geomorphology, biogeochemistry, soils, and hydrology of both freshwater and estuarine wetlands. Careful syntheses review how hydrology and chemistry constrain wetlands plants and animals. In addition, contributors document the strategies employed by plants, animals, and bacteria to cope with stress. Focusing on the ecology of key organisms, each chapter is relevant to wetland regulation and assessment, wetland restoration, how flood pulses control the ecology of most wetland complexes, and how human regulation of flood pulses threatens wetland biotic integrity. Ideal for the classroom, this book is a fundamental resource for anyone interested in the current state of our wetlands.