Forested wetlands are an integral but understudied part of the broad landscape of Atlantic Canada. Our project took a multifaceted approach to increasing knowledge about forested wetlands across the Atlantic provinces and increasing capacity for conservation of this habitat. We conducted research projects on forested wetland biodiversity, species at risk, habitat and ecosystem functioning in all four Atlantic provinces. Our studies confirmed that forested wetlands sometimes have higher plant structural diversity, are biodiversity hotspots for birds and lichens and provide important habitat for lichen and bird species at risk. Biodiversity was surprisingly high for birds in shrub swamps and higher for lichens in forested swamps compared to adjacent upland forests; even fungi associated with plant roots were more abundant than expected in forested wetlands. In Nova Scotia we found that trees are encroaching into bogs, plant productivity and tree growth do not appear to differ substantially between forested wetlands and upland forest, and forested wetlands are acting as a carbon sink. Knowledge gained can be used to provide insight into natural and anthropogenic processes influencing forested wetlands and to serve as a framework for the conservation forested wetlands.