Less than half of America’s original wetlands remain.
You may not be aware of this, but today (February 2) is World Wetland Day — a day meant to draw attention to this important natural resource. In the 1600s, over 220 million acres of wetlands existed in the lower 48 states, however today, less than half of the country’s original wetlands remain.
Why? Well, it is mainly due to agriculture where marshes are drained and converted to farmland. However, other activities including commercial and residential development, road construction, waste disposal, and mosquito control are also to blame.
Truthfully, wetlands are quite important for our survival. Not only do they provide economic, social and cultural benefits, but they are also important place for species biodiversity and responsible for maintaining good water quality for us and other animals to drink.
Keeps Water Clean
You can think of wetlands as a giant sponge — which slowly absorb water and release it when necessary — like during dry periods. However, wetlands are responsible for something even more important: they filter out toxins and pollutants from water.
Because wetlands slow the flow of water, they are also able to filter it. Since the water in the marsh is not moving very fast, any suspended sediments drop out of the flow, keeping toxins, pollutants and nutrients out of the water system.
Species Biodiversity
Wetlands are comparable to rainforests in the number of species that rely on them. The dense vegetation and shallow waters allow many plant and animal species to thrive. The types of animals you find here depends on the type of wetland — yes, there is more than one type of wetland, which are marsh (tidal or non-tidal), swamp (shrub or forested), bog and fen.
Animal species can range from beavers, rabbits, moose, deer, bobcats, eagles, trout, flounder and blue crabs!
Prevents Flooding
Wetlands also protect us from flooding. They slow the speed of floodwaters and can actually disperse any excess water. Amazingly, undisturbed wetlands can store up to 60 days worth of floodwater. Unfortunately, when these wetlands are lost, we lose these important storm defense buffers and shoreline stabilizers.
Carbon Sequestration
Currently, wetlands cover about 9 percent of the Earth’s surface, and are estimated to contain nearly 35 percent of global terrestrial carbon — meaning wetlands act as a sink for carbon and other greenhouse gases. On average, marshes can bury 1.5 tonnes of organic carbon per hectare per year — helping to minimize the impacts of climate change.
Threats to Wetlands
Unfortunately, there are still many threats to wetlands. Although humans are the main cause of wetland degradation through development and climate change, we can’t take all the blame.
Wetlands are also threatened by droughts, wildlife (overgrazing) and natural disasters like hurricanes which can erode them away. Not only that, the pollution that wetlands filter out of the water is not good for them, and there is only so much that they can absorb. Once a wetland is polluted with either pesticides and fertilizers, for example, it is very difficult to clean them up.
However, there are things humans are doing to try to help.
Protecting Wetlands
There are many programs in place to not only preserve wetlands, but to rehabilitate destroyed ones. It turns out the nearly 75 percent of all the wetlands in the U.S. are privately owned, so the Environmental Protection Agency offers financial assistance to landowners who would like to restore and protect wetlands on their property.
Although rehabilitation takes time and money, losing wetlands is not something I think humans can afford.
Facebook comments