Research by graduate student Kim Van Meter and professor Nandita Basu shows wetland loss follows a strong pattern, with smaller, isolated wetlands being lost in much greater numbers than larger wetlands.
The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Ecological Applications, points out that not only have we drained large numbers of smaller, isolated wetlands, but that the remaining wetlands have much simpler shapes, leading to an extensive loss of wetland perimeter.
Van Meter, an earth and environmental sciences doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Science, and Basu, a civil and environmental professor crossed appointed to the Faculty of Science, found wetland perimeters provide important habitat for aquatic species and allow for more chemical reactivity to improve water quality.
As described in another recent paper by Basu in the journal Bioscience, small, geographically isolated wetlands act like landscape filters, preventing excess nutrients, sediments and contaminants from entering larger waterways.