Wetlands are one of the most notable features of Whiteman Park, with up to 30% of the Park’s land mass covered by wetlands.
A wetland is an area where water covers the soil, either continuously or seasonally when the water table is higher. Like most wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, ours are seasonally wet and are very much dependant on groundwater.
All of the Park’s wetlands are part of the Bennett Brook system, with palusplain and damplands the most common wetland classifications. These wetlands are also one of the notable features that affords Whiteman Park the classification of an Environmentally Sensitive Area under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.
The important role that wetlands play in the environment can often be underappreciated. Wetlands form important habitat and havens for a range of wildlife, offering both much-needed water and shelter in their surrounding vegetation. Here at the Park, they support over a third of our fauna species, either directly or indirectly.
Wetlands also have a role to play in keeping our rivers and oceans healthy They are often described as ‘nature’s kidneys’, as they act as a filter the water that travels through them, recycling valuable nutrients and trapping pollutants and sediment from reaching the rivers or ocean.
* palusplain wetlands are seasonally waterlogged, flat wetlands with shallow, still or slow moving waters.
