Wetlands are productive ecosystems that support three-quarters of Wisconsin's wildlife species. Wisconsin has approximately five million acres of wetland that are classified into 12 wetland types by the Wisconsin Wetland Association. The state's wetlands are divided into open bogs, coniferous bogs, fens, lowland hardwood swamps, floodplain forests, coniferous swamps, marshes, sedge meadows, ephemeral ponds and low prairies.
Wisconsin's three basic types of prairies are wet or low prairies, mesic prairies and dry prairies. Prairies have rich soil and are made up of grasses and flowering plants called forbs. While many of Wisconsin's prairies have been converted to farmland, a few tallgrass and oak savanna prairies remain scattered throughout the state.
Wisconsin has over 16 million acres of forestlands mainly located in the northern part of the state. Most of the mature trees in Wisconsin's northern forest are less than 125 years old. Tree species found in Wisconsin forests include White Birch, Red Pine and Aspen.
