WETLANDS
NOTES
- Central to life cycle of plants
- Provides nesting ground for numerous animals
- Northern lands may moderate climate change, serve as sink for CO2, reduce pollution
- Between 50's - 70's over 9 million acres wiped out
- Has fluctuating water levels
- Activities of humans/animals can determine the water levels
- Provides nesting ground for numerous animals
- Northern lands may moderate climate change, serve as sink for CO2, reduce pollution
- Between 50's - 70's over 9 million acres wiped out
- Has fluctuating water levels
- Activities of humans/animals can determine the water levels
SUMMARY |
Wetlands are essential to various forms of life. They provide shelter/nesting grounds for numerous and some endangered species. Because of their ability to reduce pollution, they are referred to as "nature's kidneys". However, the number of wetlands has been decreasing. From the 1950's to the 1970's over 9 million acres have been wiped out, but the number of disappearing wetlands have been kept at a slower rate recently. As of now, new laws to protect/preserve wetlands look like an impossibility, but there are still signs of hope for their survival.
REFLECTION
I found this article intriguing because I never knew wetlands had rapidly fluctuating water levels, or that they reduced pollution. I do agree that the efforts to preserve them should persist on account of them providing nesting grounds for endangered animals. Once we lose these species we will never get them back. If these species are removed from their ecosystems, then they cannot serve their purpose and therefore the ecosystem cannot function properly. While I understand that monitoring the water levels of a wetland is very difficult and very expensive, I still hold out hope that a solution will be reached to effectively preserve these beautiful aspects of nature without spending massive amounts of money or devoting insane amounts of time for a simple task.