New
research
published
from
Nandita
Basu,
Principal
Investigator,
and
Fred
Cheng
investigates
why
small,
isolated
wetlands
should
be
protected.
Learn
more
about
the
research
by
listening
to
Nandita’s
interview
on
CBC's
The
Morning
Edition
K-W!
The paper discusses how small isolated wetlands that are full for only part of the year are often the first to be removed for development or agriculture, but they can be twice as effective in protecting downstream lake or river ecosystems than if they were connected to them.
Using a new method involving satellite imagery and computer modelling, this research found that since these small wetlands are disconnected, pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorous get trapped. This is the first study to use satellite data for estimating nutrient retention.
All wetlands act like sponges, providing flood protection by absorbing the vast volume of water that can be suddenly released from rainfall or snowmelt. Improving water quality, providing habitat, increasing biodiversity, and trapping carbon are just some of the many environmental benefits wetlands provide. Their destruction increases our vulnerability to the extreme effects of climate change, including flooding, drought and the frequency of storms.
“Being disconnected can actually be better because they are catching the pollutants and retaining them as opposed to leaking them back to the stream waters,” said Fred Cheng, first author of the study, and currently a postdoctoral fellow at Colorado State University.