Peatlands, are fens, swamps, marshes, and bogs that cover approximately 2-3% of the global land surface [5]. Peat bogs are infertile wetlands with acidic soil that contain unusual communities of plants and animals adapted to live in these conditions. Peat has high water holding capacity and stores organic carbon which has many benefits and functions to the environment. Unfortunately, wetlands are sensitive to environmental change and human impacts such as harvesting and agriculture. It is extremely important to protect and maintain these rare wetlands for the conservation of rare species that reside in these ecosystems and the biodiversity of plants. The importance of the restoration of peat bogs is vital for their survival although, climatic …show more content…
Peat-moss is seen as a non-renewable resource since it takes extremely long for peat to produce. The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss association is working to ensure that peat moss is a renewable resource through practical management [6]. The restoration of post-harvest sites is vital for the return of functional peatland ecosystems. “The key is responsible management that sets aside areas for protection and conservation and puts in place management practices that ensure the retention of ecosystem goods and services following development” [6]. Management practices such as maintaining original water sources, the reintroduction of Sphagnum plants taken from adjacent sites, spreading of manure and straw to prevent the site from drying out, and finally doing these steps of reintroduction in Autumn [2]. The restoration of peatlands is vital because they help with storing carbon, reducing flooding, providing a rich habitat for wildlife, and improving water quality [8]. Based on the moss transfer technique developed through the research program, a sphagnum dominated plant cover is re-established within 3-5 years following restoration. The biodiversity and hydrology re-establishment should take approximately 15 to 20 years to reach pre-harvest conditions and carbon sequestration [6]. Another important aspect of properly managing harvested sites in an environmentally, ecological, and sustainable way is the carbon accumulation associated with peatlands. Wetlands store large amounts of carbon, which is highly important in climate change, by reducing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and therefore lessening the impact of global
Canada is a very large country, with areas of land in various climate regions, and land regions, thus having many ecozones that differentiate from another. The most populated ecozone in Canada is the Mixedwood Plains; the ecozone we are located in, named after the mixedwood forests that are native to the area. The Mixedwood Plains is one of the smallest of the Canadian ecozones, spanning only 175 963 kilometres squared. The Mixedwood Plains is bordered by three of the great lakes on the southern side of the ecozone, and comes up along the St Lawrence river to southern Quebec, and fills the tip of Ontario. It has rolling plains and small rock formations and escarpments. The Mixedwood Plains contains over half of the Canadian population as it contains some of Canada’s largest cities, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Windsor. The Mixedwood Plains has a relatively temperate climate with summers ranging an average temperature of 18o c – 22oc and winters ranging from -3oc - -110c.[2] Native mammals to the ecozone are black, brown and grizzly bears, grey wolves, coyotes and foxes, raccoons, squirrels, and other small mammals. Avian species include brown sparrow, hawks, crows, cardinals and bluejays. Fish are bass, trout, carp and pike. The Mixedwood Plains is made up of about 40% water, and contains over 20% of the worlds freshwater. One of the major problems in the world today is freshwater shortage. Because we have ample supply, we don’t notice, but much of the world is short on water. There are more water resources, but one of the largest is being quickly polluted and populated by invasive species .
The first mitigation banking guidance was released in 1995 by the EPA and Corps of Engineers. The most recent wetland mitigation banking guidance was released in 2008. The idea behind both wetland mitigation banking and conservation banking is to provide compensation for unavoidable impacts to resources prior to the environmental impact taking place (FWS, 2003). Based on the rules set forth in section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and section 404 of the Clean Water Act, wetland impacts are reduced by using the following sequence of steps: avoiding impacts, minimizing impacts, and as a last resort, mitigating for impacts. Although the Corps has enforced a mitigation policy to reg...
They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.
It is thought to be believed that when a child's parent dies, it isn’t just the relationship between the two that dies, but ones sense of self in the relationship, and this is exactly what happens to a unfortunate young girl, Ava Bigtree (Silverman). The loss of a loved one in a child's life is a very emotionally charged moment, one that can also affect their psychological, and physiological health, especially if that loved one is a family member. These problems in children’s mental health can lead to unhealthy social behaviors and can become detrimental to their development into adults. Children at a certain age are taught, oddly enough, to fear, from their parents and through osmosis from the environment. Only when a child is taught not to fear, or does not have someone to teach them fear, is when the child can end up in dangerous situations as adults. In Swamplandia! By Karen Russell it is seen at first hand what happens when children are left alone and are not taught about societies normal social behaviors and tendencies. In this novel one can see the effects of abandonment of a child in a critical state of development, how a predator can take advantage of that vulnerability, and how that victim can rationalize this manipulation.
At a time when fresh water supplies are diminishing around the globe, the vast reserves in Canada’s boreal are increasingly important to protect. Wetlands make up nearly one third of the Canadian boreal, an estimated 1.5 million lakes and some of the country’s largest river systems (Soja, et al., 2007). Canada’s largest rive...
[3] Lena Schaller et al. “Cultivating the climate: socio-economic prospects and consequences of climate-friendly peat land management in Germany.” Hydrobiologia 674 (2011): 91-104
Drake, B.G., Peresta, G.J. (1993) Open top chambers for studies of the long-term effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on wetland and forest ecosystem processes. Plant and Soil, 187:111–118,
Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, drainage of the wetlands was an idea. From then on, human activities like agriculture and building have been the center of elimination for these wetlands. Pollution has also been a factor in this, along with natural
Dickson wetlands contain a rich variety of nature. This ranges from flowers, grass, shrubbery to trees. Most of the flora found around the Dickson wetland is native to Australia and has a very low environmental impact. Some of the dominant flora that was identified is a type of long grass and gumtree’s. These plants help create a beautiful atmosphere and also filter the water. The effects of these natural filtration systems can be seen in the water statistics taken at the wetlands. With a dissolved oxygen level of 100% and 20.0mg/l and a Ph of 7.70, the water levels are within a healthy range.
Between 300 and 400 million people worldwide live in areas near wetlands and depend on them. Wetlands are mechanisms for treatment of wastewater are extremely efficient because they absorb chemicals and filter pollutants and sediments. Half the world's wetlands have disappeared due to urbanization and industrial development. The only way to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction will be through better management of rivers and wetlands, and the land they drain and drain as well as through increased investment in them.
Thesis: Forests provide the earth with a regulated climate, strong biodiversity, and good nutrient rich soil for plants to strive on.
Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands include marshes, estuaries, bogs, fens, swamps, deltas, shallow seas, and floodplains. Wetland habitats support a vast range of plant and animal life, and serve a variety of important functions, which include water regime regulation, flood control, erosion control, nursery areas for fishes, fish production, recreation, plant production, aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands account for about 6% of the global land area and are among the most valuable environmental resources.
Mangrove forests are unique bio diverse wetlands and incredibly productive ecosystems that line the coasts of subtropical and tropical coastlines around the world. Mangroves support essential functions benefitting the natural ecosystems of its surrounding area and are also extremely important resource to human communities as well. These trees are survivor, growing where land and water meet and protect the environment by protecting coastal areas and communities from storm surges, waves, tidal currents and typhoons. Although mangroves are naturally hardy and despite of the goods they do, human activities threatened to destroy and degrade these trees beyond repair. This paper contains the literature review that will help to give a better understanding
One of the reasons for loss in biodiversity is alteration of habitats. A habitat is the natural environment in which a species of living organism lives. If the habitat of a species is changed, it will cause the species to die or migrate to other places where it can find its natural habitat. There are many ways in which the habitat of plants and animals can be altered. One of them is land use changes. Since the beginning of human life, human beings have been changing land use for farming. Large areas of forests have been cleared by humans to increase the area of farming to satisfy their growing needs. Many biodiversity-rich landscape characteristics have been lost due to intensive farming (Young, Richards, Fischer, Halada, Kull, Kuzniar, Tartes, Uzunov & Watt, 2007). For example, traditional farming was replaced by private farms in Europe after the First World War causing an immense change in land use patterns. Another major proble...