littoral zone freshwater littoral zone A freshwater littoral zone is a littoral zone which extends offshore from the shore of a freshwater body of water to the limit of occupancy of rooted plants. The littoral zone may form a narrow or broad fringing wetland, with extensive areas of aquatic plants sorted by their tolerance to different water depths. Typically, four zones are recognized, from higher to lower on the shore: wooded wetland, wet meadow, marsh and aquatic vegetation. Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Chapter 2. fringing wetland