The impact of climate on the change in the area of ​​the marshes

Zaid Hakim Jiyad
Under the supervision of Lect. Dr. Ali Khazal Jawad

The marshes and swamps area is one of the largest wetlands in West Asia and has unique characteristics. The marshes are characterized by the abundance of lands submerged in water and the water increases during the flood season, especially in winter and the beginning of spring, and decreases in the summer when the water recedes and the submerged areas decrease.
The Arabs called the marshes and swamps the batayeh, the singular of which is batayeh, meaning the flattening of the torrent and its expansion in the land. It is known that the alluvial plain area is a flat area devoid of topographic features and with a slight slope, and therefore any emergence that occurs on the banks of the rivers leads to their arrival at the marshes. One of the clearest examples is the outlet or opening of the Musandak, which branches off from the right bank of the Tigris River and the largest branch of the river between the cities of Kut and Al-Qurna, and that it does not have a clear course from its beginning until it reaches the Saniya Marsh, as its course is wide and reaches (450 m). The marshes extend spatially within three governorates, which are (Nasiriyah, Basra, and Amara), and appear in the form of a triangle, and the most important of its marshes are Al-Hawizeh, Al-Hammar, and the central marshes. Historical sources indicate that the marshes are ancient in southern Iraq. The Sumerians called the marshes (Narmoto), meaning bitter water, and they called the Al-Hawizeh Marsh (Suziana), meaning the great marsh, which is a name given to the low-lying lands. It is adjacent to and flooded with water seasonally or permanently through water sources from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and from Iranian lands as well as from water emanating from the drains. Reeds and papyrus grow abundantly in it, and reeds grow in deep water, while papyrus grows in the shallower and less watery areas. It is a natural phenomenon and a water reservoir for water that can be used. The importance of the marshes lies in the fact that they play a prominent role in establishing environmental balance in the region. It is an integrated system that dates back more than five thousand years.