Wetlands: Functioning, Biodiversity Conservation, and Restoration


Book Description

This book gives a broad and well-integrated overview of recent major scientific results in wetland science and their applications in natural resource management. After an introduction into the field, 12 chapters contributed by internationally known experts summarize the state of the art on a multitude of topics. The coverage is divided into three sections: Functioning of Plants and Animals in Wetlands; Conservation and Management of Wetlands; and Wetland Restoration and Creation.




Wetland Ecosystems


Book Description

New focused text introduces readers to wetland ecosystems and systems approaches to studying wetlands With its comprehensive coverage of wetland science, management, and restoration, Mitsch and Gosselink's Wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for more than two decades. Now, the coverage of specific wetland ecosystem types from earlier editions of this acclaimed work has been updated, revised, and supplemented with additional content in order to create this new text focusing exclusively on wetland ecosystems. This book now complements Wetlands, Fourth Edition. Following an introduction to ecosystems in general and wetland ecosystems in particular, Wetland Ecosystems examines the major types of wetlands found throughout the world: coastal wetlands, freshwater marshes and forested swamps, and peatlands. The final chapter reviews three fundamental systems approaches to studying wetlands: mesocosms, full-scale experimental ecosystems, and mathematical modeling. This new text features: Updated descriptions of the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biology of the main types of wetlands found in the world New content introducing general ecosystems, wetland ecosystems, whole ecosystem and mesocosm experiments with wetlands, and systems ecology and modeling A detailed description of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands A broad international scope, including many examples of wetlands located outside North America Two new coauthors offering new perspectives and additional insights into the latest ecosystem and modeling techniques An abundance of illustrations helps readers understand how different biological communities and the abiotic environment in wetland ecosystems interact and function. Tables and text boxes provide at-a-glance summaries of key information. Lastly, each chapter concludes with a list of recommended readings. This text has been designed as an introduction for students and professionals in wetland ecology and management, general ecology, environmental science, and natural resource management.




Wetlands


Book Description

"Wetlands" has become a hot word in the current environmental debate. But what does it signify? In 1991, proposed changes in the legal definities of wetlands stirred controversy and focused attention on the scientific and economic aspects of their management. This volume explores how to define wetlands. The committee--whose members were drawn from academia, government, business, and the environmental community--builds a rational, scientific basis for delineating wetlands in the landscape and offers recommendations for further action. Wetlands also discusses the diverse hydrological and ecological functions of wetlands, and makes recommendations concerning so-called controversial areas such as permafrost wetlands, riparian ecosystems, irregularly flooded sites, and agricultural wetlands. It presents criteria for identifying wetlands and explores the problems of applying those criteria when there are seasonal changes in water levels. This comprehensive and practical volume will be of interest to environmental scientists and advocates, hydrologists, policymakers, regulators, faculty, researchers, and students of environmental studies.




Wetlands and Natural Resource Management


Book Description

This book provides a broad and well-integrated overview of recent major scientific results in wetland science and their applications in natural resource management issues. The contributors, internationally known experts, summarize the state of the art on an array of topics, divided into four broad areas: The Role of Wetlands for Integrated Water Resources Management: Putting Theory into Practice; Wetland Science for Environmental Management; Wetland Biogeochemistry; Wetlands and Climate Change Worldwide.




Handbook of Research on Monitoring and Evaluating the Ecological Health of Wetlands


Book Description

"This book highlights the challenges of wetland conservation and the current scenario of existing wetlands including inland wetland and discusses Inventory, assessment and monitoring are as vital components of effective wetland management"--




Wetland Plants


Book Description

Due to their high nutritive value and the presence of secondary metabolites, wetland plants can be consumed by humans as food and utilized as medicinal drugs. Significant numbers of ethno-botanic resources have been reported to extract useful compounds, which can be used as pharmaceuticals. Wetland plants are also very valuable as an energy source, as fuel for fish smoking and for domestic energy. These plants can be harvested as wild stock, or cultivated in flooded paddies for aquaculture, food and for livestock fodder. All parts of plants can be utilized for foodstuff, compost, mulch, medicine, and for construction. Wetland Plants: A Source of Nutrition and Ethnomedicine aims to promote public understanding of this remarkable resource, exploring not only their role in the ecosystem but also their nutritional and medicinal purposes. Based on original research, the text focuses on species identification (with original pictures of wetland plants including morphological features), nutritive value and ethno-medicinal uses. This book serves as an important and basic reference material for further research into the basic biological as well as the applied medicinal aspects of traditional medicinal wetland plants.




Wetlands Conservation


Book Description

Wetlands Conservation An up-to-date overview of approaches for addressing wetlands degradation and its effects on ecosystem services, human health, and other ecosystems Wetlands are essential sources of biodiversity, water purification, groundwater replenishment, flood control, storm protection, sediment retention, recreation and tourism, and more. Human exploitation of natural resources over the past 200 years has caused significant wetlands degradation and loss. Although the Ramsar Convention of 1971 drafted polices for wetland conservation and responsible use, many wetland sites remain inadequately conserved or managed. Maintaining the ecological balance and equilibrium of wetlands requires a clear understanding of the vital role of wetlands, the difficulties they face, and the policies enacted for their protection. Wetlands Conservation: Current Challenges and Future Strategies summarizes both current and emerging management strategies, trends, and policies regarding wetlands protection around the world. The authors provide accurate scientific information on wetlands while discussing the effects of climate change, global warming, modernization in agriculture, and other key topics. Designed to assist in the development of future solutions for wetlands conservation and management strategies, this important volume: Highlights the environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural importance of wetlands Identifies the factors responsible for the failure of many conservation initiatives Describes the natural and anthropogenic factors of wetlands degradation Discusses the role of community-based wetlands conservation and management Explores Ramsar wetlands conservation and its impacts worldwide Wetlands Conservation: Current Challenges and Future Strategies is an invaluable resource for graduate and postgraduate students, researchers, ecologists, policymakers, conservation organizations, and others working in the field of natural resources management.




Wetlands in a Dry Land


Book Description

In the name of agriculture, urban growth, and disease control, humans have drained, filled, or otherwise destroyed nearly 87 percent of the world’s wetlands over the past three centuries. Unintended consequences include biodiversity loss, poor water quality, and the erosion of cultural sites, and only in the past few decades have wetlands been widely recognized as worth preserving. Emily O’Gorman asks, What has counted as a wetland, for whom, and with what consequences? Using the Murray-Darling Basin—a massive river system in eastern Australia that includes over 30,000 wetland areas—as a case study and drawing on archival research and original interviews, O’Gorman examines how people and animals have shaped wetlands from the late nineteenth century to today. She illuminates deeper dynamics by relating how Aboriginal peoples acted then and now as custodians of the landscape, despite the policies of the Australian government; how the movements of water birds affected farmers; and how mosquitoes have defied efforts to fully understand, let alone control, them. Situating the region’s history within global environmental humanities conversations, O’Gorman argues that we need to understand wetlands as socioecological landscapes in order to create new kinds of relationships with and futures for these places.




Multifunctional Wetlands


Book Description

This book describes how natural or constructed wetlands can be used to reduce pollution of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, while still preserving their biodiversity and ecological functions. Through a series of case histories described in 10 chapters in the monograph, the readers will gain an understanding of the opportunities, as well as the challenges associated with reducing point and non-point source pollution using natural, restored or constructed wetlands. The target audience will be water practitioners involved in projects utilizing integrated watershed management approaches to pollution abatement, as well as researchers who are designing projects focused on this topic.




Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems


Book Description

Aldo Leopold, father of the "land ethic," once said, "The time has come for science to busy itself with the earth itself. The first step is to reconstruct a sample of what we had to begin with." The concept he expressedâ€"restorationâ€"is defined in this comprehensive new volume that examines the prospects for repairing the damage society has done to the nation's aquatic resources: lakes, rivers and streams, and wetlands. Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems outlines a national strategy for aquatic restoration, with practical recommendations, and features case studies of aquatic restoration activities around the country. The committee examines: Key concepts and techniques used in restoration. Common factors in successful restoration efforts. Threats to the health of the nation's aquatic ecosystems. Approaches to evaluation before, during, and after a restoration project. The emerging specialties of restoration and landscape ecology.