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Wetlands: Conservation & Management
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1. Introduction to Wetlands
Natural disasters kill about 90,000 people each year. Some of the most devastating
disasters are tsunamis, which are enormous waves caused by earthquakes in the
ocean that occur quickly with little to no notice.
In 2004, a devastating tsunami tore through the Indian Ocean, hitting more than a
dozen countries, with waves reaching over 100 feet high in some locations. Not only
was the loss of human life devastating, with nearly 300,000 people perishing and
millions of people left homeless, but the disaster accounted for $8.7 billion worth of
damage.
Though devastation was widespread, evidence showed mangroves-- trees which
flourish in coastal wetlands-- protected the coast. And areas where wetlands were
destroyed for building development or agriculture experienced severe damage.
Wetlands act as natural buffers for flooding and storms. Well-managed wetlands cost
significantly less than engineered solutions for preventing disasters.
Wetlands are defined by two characteristics. The first is their soils. The soils in
wetlands are either permanently or temporarily flooded and are referred to as hydric
soils. The second characteristic is the vegetation. Vegetation that can grow in hydric
soils is referred to as either aquatic or wetland plants. Wetlands are flooded
permanently or temporarily and sometimes as little as just a few weeks a year.
A wetland is an area with hydric and anaerobic soil, which means the soil is
permanently or seasonally saturated with water and free of oxygen. By definition,
wetlands must also be able to support a plant community adapted to living in these
soils. Wetlands are classified by three factors-- landscape position; vegetation cover;
and hydrological regime, or the regular pattern of variations in water levels.
There are four types of wetlands-- marshes, swamps, bogs, and fens. Marshes are
wetlands with frequent flooding or constant surface water. Marshes are full of soft-
stemmed vegetation such as grasses and sedges. Marshes are filled primarily by
surface water, but some may be fed with groundwater as well. Marshes have a neutral
pH, which allows plant and animal life to flourish.
There are two types of marshes. The first is nontidal marshes, which are the most
widespread type of wetland in North America and are one of the most productive
ecosystems in the world. Most nontidal marshes are freshwater, though some may be
brackish, or lightly salty, particularly when the marsh is fed through groundwater.
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Salt will collect as the water percolates up through the soil. When this water reaches
the surface and evaporates, the salt remains, gradually increasing the salinity of the
shallow pool. Nontidal marshes occur most often in poorly draining low places and
along boundaries of freshwater.
Water depth in marshes varies between a couple of inches and up to three feet,
though many are ephemeral, which means temporary, and may dry up completely at
times. Nontidal marshes have highly organic and mineral rich soil.
They support a large variety of plants and animals with more density and diversity
than other types of ecosystems. In addition, they provide significant value to local
areas by reducing flood damage and filtering out pollutants and excess nutrients from
surface runoff.
Tidal marshes are marshes along coastlines, particularly common along the eastern
coast of the United States and along the Gulf of Mexico. However, there are several
important tidal marshes along the Pacific coast and in Alaska as well. Their water
levels are influenced by tides rising and falling throughout the day.
Despite the influence of the ocean, tidal wetlands are not always salty. There are also
freshwater tidal marshes, which typically sit further inland from the coast or along tidal
rivers that rise and fall with ocean tides.
Saline tidal marshes are unique environments, housing vegetation and animals
specially adapted to saltwater conditions. These habitats form essential protective
cover for clams, crabs, juvenile fish, and nesting waterfowl. Tidal marshes protect land
from stormy seas and shoreline erosion as well as protect oceans and estuaries from
excess nutrients and pollutants.
Swamps are wetlands with woody plants, either trees or shrubs. Swamps have
saturated soil during the growing season, typically spring through early fall, and often
have standing or slow-moving water at certain points of the year.
Dead vegetation does not float away, but will settle and often will not fully decay
because of the lack of oxygen in the water and soil. This causes a buildup of organic
materials and creates the well-known swamp water consistency, where water appears
thick and dark, almost like coffee or tea.
Freshwater swamps occur near lakes and streams, particularly in areas where heavy
rain or snow melt causes seasonal flooding. Swamps cannot support nearly the
amount of diversity as marshes because the soil is so anaerobic. Certain species
thrive in these conditions, such as cypress, willow, and tupelo trees. In forested
swamps, the tree's roots are shallow and widespread.
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Swamps filled with saltwater are called mangrove swamps and form along coastlines,
typically in tropical areas where sea water floods often. Mangroves are shrub like
trees, which can exist in the moist, sandy soils along the coast. The mangroves' tall
and thin roots create dense thickets, which anchor sand and soil along the shore. Like
saltwater marshes, saltwater swamps are essential habitats for marine animals to
hatch and grow, sheltered by thick vegetation.
Bogs are wetlands filled with peat, a spongy substance formed by partially
decomposed vegetation and acidic waters. Bogs receive most water from
precipitation. And as a result, the water does not have much mineral content.
Sphagnum moss covers the floor of the bog or may form mats that float on top of the
water. Bogs remain wet all year long, though the water level may change depending
on seasonal conditions. Bogs do not provide very hospitable conditions for many
plants. And most of the plant life found in the area are mosses, grasses, and some
hardy shrubs.
Carnivorous plants, such as the northern pitcher plant, have adapted well to life in the
bog, because they receive nutrients from insect life, they prey on rather than getting
nutrients from the soil or water. Insects thrive in bogs, so birds and amphibians can
feed on the abundant insect life.
Bogs are very effective at filtering water. Water is slowly released into estuaries to
help maintain proper salinity, nutrients, and acidity of large bodies of water. Bogs are
also considered carbon sinks, sequestering more than 200 billion tons of carbon
around the world.
Unlike most marshes and swamps, which can be rehabilitated when degraded, bogs
are incredibly sensitive. They require hundreds of years to recover. So resources
found in bogs must be used sustainably in order not to affect the ecosystem's
structure.
Fens are very similar to bogs. They are also filled with peat. Because they receive
water from groundwater and surface runoff, they are less acidic and have more
nutrients. As a result, fens have a much more diverse set of plant life and are full of
grasses, sedges, rushes, and wildflowers.
Fens often have ridges with more productive growing areas and hollows that are less
productive. When peat builds up in a fen, the surface can be cut off from groundwater
and develop into a bog.
So there are several functions that wetlands provide to humans, to wildlife, including
water quality. Wetlands improve the water quality by filtering out pollutants and
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sediments. They also improve water supply. Wetlands recharge aquifers.
Wetlands filter and remove excess nutrients before they enter surface bodies of water
or groundwater supplies. Water slows while flowing through wetlands, which allows
sediment to settle to the bottom of the wetland floor.
Additionally, vegetation absorbs excess nutrients present in water as a result of
contamination from manure, sewage, or fertilization. Pollution is absorbed by bacteria
in the wetland, or it may be trapped in soil when sediment settles. Wetlands are so
efficient at filtering water; communities will build wetlands to support and even act as
wastewater treatment plants.
There is also wildlife habitat, especially for migratory waterfowl, shore birds, and water
birds. But they also support a great biodiversity of species. In fact, over 900 species
rely on wetlands at some part of their annual cycle. And up to 50% of the endangered
species rely on wetlands for part of their annual cycle.
Most wetlands generate significant biodiversity. The significant amounts of vegetation
and detritus, consisting of dead organic materials, provide a solid base for a wide food
web. A variety of birds and mammals rely on wetlands at some point in their life
cycles.
Wetlands also reduce the impacts of floods by absorbing flood waters or preventing
storm surge. In addition, wetlands provide recreational areas for humans for hunting,
for wildlife watching, for kayaking, for boating. Wetlands also provide important
spawning habitat for commercial and recreational fish.
Wetlands are incredibly productive and essential for reducing damage from extreme
weather events, maintaining biodiversity throughout the continent, and providing clean
water across the nation.
2. Threats to Wetlands
Wetlands are precious resources, but in the United States approximately 50% of
natural wetlands have been lost, and as many as 60,000 more acres continue to be
lost each year. While healthy wetlands provide regulating and supporting services for
the environment, degraded wetlands are not able to function adequately, and the
ecosystem loses some of the resources the wetland could provide.
There are two main threats to wetlands, conversion and degradation. Wetland
conversion can be for things like agriculture, urban sprawl, or industrial uses. This
results when the wetlands are drained and filled in and converted for either row crop
production, housing, commercial buildings, or industrial uses.
Conversion of wetlands occurs in a variety of ways. In order to develop on lucrative
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coastal regions, wetlands within natural floodplains must be filled or drained. In most
cases, fill will be deposited, and other barriers are created to prevent the new
formation of a wetland in some other location of the floodplain. When the absorbent
soil found in wetlands is paved over or covered by development, water has no place
to go and flooding increases.
When wetlands cannot be filled, they may be drained through canals or ditches in
order to drain a wetland or divert water for agriculture. Draining wetlands changes the
soil conditions and destroys the productive habitat. Building on wetlands and coastal
regions has been connected to increasing devastation from hurricanes.
Without wetlands to reduce flooding and slow storm surge, hurricanes do more
financial damage, flood further inland, and displace more people when coasts are
heavily developed. Water is a powerful force that when left alone will carve canyons,
change shores, and develop meandering patterns through land. Humans want to
control this unbridled power through developments of dams and levees.
Dams are barriers created to restrict water flow. Dams stop water, creating reservoirs
which hold water and slowly release water as necessary, and some generate power
from water flow. Levees are used to stop water from naturally changing course and to
prevent flooding. These structures alter natural water flow and can prevent free
movement of aquatic life. Wetlands, where these structures are used, may dry out or
experience a surge of water, changing the quality of the habitat.
The other main impact on wetlands is degradation. And this results from
sedimentation. It results from water quality, pollution, from agricultural runoff, soil
running off from development and commercial areas. Wetlands that once were
dominated by plants receive the sediment from surrounding areas that have been
developed. And as a result, lose their function and their appeal to wildlife.
In the United States, point source pollution or pollution coming from a clearly identified
source, such as a factory dumping waste, is well regulated and controlled by the
Clean Water Act. The bigger issue is non-point nutrient pollution from the widespread
use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers in agriculture, as well as on lawns and
gardens. Both nutrients can cause toxic algae blooms, dead zones devoid of
dissolved oxygen needed to support aquatic and marine life and impair drinking water
supply when they get into streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
Wetlands are able to capture and remove both nitrogen and phosphorus to improve
water quality of people, fish, and wildlife downstream, which is an important function
and ecosystem service for people. Though wetlands can act as natural filtration
systems to absorb pollution, pollutants can still damage these habitats. Pollution, like
oil spills, sewage, or industrial waste, can kill off vegetation, animals, and insect life in
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the wetland.
Invasive or non-native species can impact the health of wetlands by competing with
native species for resources and creating a misbalance in the ecosystem, and in
some cases, degrading and even destroying wetland habitats. The entire food web of
an ecosystem can be thrown off and result in all native populations suffering.
Salt cedar is an invasive shrub that grows on riverbanks and has created problems
along the Colorado River. These trees consume incredible amounts of water and
deplete water sources for native plants. Water hyacinth is an invasive floating aquatic
plant, which covers the surface of a body of water with dense mats of vegetation that
restrict light availability and deplete oxygen levels in the water. This process chokes
out native aquatic vegetation and invertebrates.
Nutrias are another common non-native invasive species. They are rodents
introduced to the United States for fur farming. These rodents reproduce quickly and
feed only on roots and stems of plants, which means they end up destroying 10 times
as much vegetation as they need to consume. Nutria can destroy marshes and
riverbanks by consuming the vegetation in the ecosystem to extinction. They cause
erosion and bring many parasites and pathogens to an ecosystem, harming other
mammalian populations in the wetland and impacting the entire system.
When wetlands are destroyed, we lose that important wildlife habitat. Obviously, from
a Ducks Unlimited standpoint, that habitat is lost to waterfowl, but also all the other
wildlife species that utilize wetlands. In addition, we lose the economic return from
wetlands. Wetlands are important from a commercial and recreational fishery aspect.
They're important areas for supporting wildlife biodiversity. And they also lose their
flood protection, which results in more severe flooding of areas.
Though wetlands face many threats in North America, there have been many efforts
made to protect, restore, and manage wetlands for the future.
3. Conservation & Management of Wetlands
Wetlands are critical for maintaining biodiversity, protecting freshwater quality,
controlling floods, and recharging groundwater. As a result, conservation efforts have
been made to protect and restore wetlands across the continent.
Often these wetland conservation practices are done with private landowners, and the
main method is through landowner incentive programs. There are tax incentives for
donating conservation easements on land. There are different programs through state
and federal funding sources that will provide financial assistance and technical
assistance to landowners for wetland conservation practices.
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Two main sources of funding that help incentivize landowners to protect wetlands on
their property come from the Duck Stamp Act, and also the North American Wetlands
Conservation Act. Both of these provide money for purchasing conservation
easements, as well as fee title acquisition of wetlands on private property. In addition,
they also provide funding for wetland restoration on their property to help to continue
to manage their wetlands for wildlife, including waterfowl.
There are three primary wetland conservation practices-- protection, restoration, and
management.
Protection involves the long-term security of a wetland, either through a cooperative
agreement, through a conservation easement, or through a regulatory measure such
as the Clean Water Act. Under this, the wetlands are protected in perpetuity, and
therefore, their functions will remain intact.
The Clean Water Act protects the health of waters in the United States. The Act sets
standards for waste discharge and other sources of point source pollution. Also, the
Act protects wetlands and the water quality of the Great Lakes, which makes up 84%
of the freshwater in the United States. The farm bill provides funding for conservation
programs, which helps farmers restore and protect wetlands.
The farm bill actually has its roots back to 1933 under President Roosevelt. This Act
has helped farmers not only with their crops but has also helped on the conservation
front. It started with conservation focus on soil, but in the '50s and '60s expanded to
include conservation of wetlands.
The second act that was important is what's called the Migratory Bird Hunting and
Conservation Stamp Act, originating in 1934. This is more commonly known as the
Duck Stamp Act. This stamp is required by all waterfowl hunters every year, and the
proceeds from that go to purchase land or conservation easements on private lands,
or also add lands to the national wildlife refuges, all focused on important waterfowl
habitat.
The Duck Stamp Act provides millions of dollars each year for purchasing and leasing
essential wetlands.
We have two other acts that passed in the late '80s and early '90s. The first is the
North American Wetlands Conservation Act, more commonly referred to as NAWCA.
NAWCA provides funding not only for wetland conservation in the United States, but
also in Canada and Mexico. Its goal is to help conserve, protect, and restore
important wetlands not only for waterfowl, but for all migratory birds.
Finally, the last important law that I'd like to highlight is the Coastal Wetlands Planning
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and Protection and Restoration Act of 1990. This uses funds from gas and oil royalties
to help protect the Gulf Coast marshes of Louisiana. We have lost over 40% of the
freshwater coastal wetlands in Louisiana and continue to lose more and more each
year. Funds from this restoration help conserve wetlands in Louisiana, but also helps
fund research and implementation of new measures to help protect wetlands.
Though these provisions and practices protect wetlands from future degradation,
some wetland habitats require restoration after experiencing degradation.
The second conservation practice is restoration, and this occurs on wetlands where
their functions have been degraded due to either being converted in the past, or from
degradation from sedimentation or other practices. And we go in and restore a
wetland by returning its functions to be more natural.
The conditions of wetlands are monitored and assessed through categorizing
landscape, observing the plant community, and measuring the wetlands' flora and
fauna populations and hydrogeomorphic functions, such as water retention of the soil
to determine the health of the area.
When wetlands have been classified as requiring restoration, there are several
techniques used. In areas where structures have caused wetland drainage or
flooding, these barriers can be removed to allow water to flow naturally. Typically,
wetlands have been converted to agricultural land. Restoration is effective once crops
and domestic animals are removed from the area.
Other strategies for restoration can include re-establishing the topography of an area,
particularly when wetlands have been filled, and optimizing the use of fertilizers and
pesticides to prevent excessive nutrients and runoff. A final strategy involves
encouraging the native flora and fauna to return to the area, which may require
management techniques like controlling the hydrology to establish a plant community.
Finally, wetland management-- and this occurs on wetlands that are already protected
or restored-- and under this situation, these wetlands are managed and maintain their
functions for wildlife and for other uses.
Wetlands provide valuable resources which can benefit humans. These resources
should be used sustainably to avoid damaging the ecosystem.
There are two methods for sustainable use of wetlands for commercial and industrial
uses. The first is for pre-treating drinking water. Some municipalities will use this
method where they're able to run water through wetlands, and then into their drinking
water treatment facilities.
Under this, it helps reduce the costs of producing drinking water. And also,
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wastewater treatment facilities will use wetlands to treat their effluent before releasing
it into the rivers. This, again, reduces not only the contaminants that go into the rivers,
but it will also help reduce the cost of wastewater treatment. Wetlands are also able to
filter out nutrients and sediments from agricultural runoff. So they play an important
part in improving the water quality.
Wetlands also provide many opportunities for recreation through boating, hunting,
birdwatching, and fishing. Individual visitors should be informed about proper behavior
when visiting wetlands, such as properly disposing of trash or taking care to avoid the
introduction of invasive species.
People can get involved in wetlands conservation by joining Ducks Unlimited and
supporting its wetlands conservation mission. Folks can also be involved in legislative
efforts to help enact laws that continue to strengthen our wetland conservation
programs. Ducks Unlimited is recognized as the world leader in wetlands
conservation, having conserved over 14 million acres since its founding in 1937.
And Ducks Unlimited partners with its sister organizations in Canada and Mexico, and
also partners with all 50 state agencies, all of the provinces in Canada, and most of
the states in Mexico. We also partner with our federal and state agencies in those
countries, along with private landowners, corporations, and foundations. Together, this
partnership has been responsible for most of the wetlands conservation in North
America over the past 80 years, and Ducks Unlimited continues to partner with these
as we look to sustain waterfowl into the future.
Supporting organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and voting for legislation that
values the importance of wetlands protects the land we live on and ensures the safety
of critical resources and ecological functions.
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