Wetland Ecosystems

New focused text introduces readers to wetland ecosystems and systems approaches to studying wetlands With its comprehensive coverage of wetland science, management, and restoration, Mitsch and Gosselink's Wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for more than two decades. Now, the coverage of specific wetland ecosystem types from earlier editions of this acclaimed work has been updated, revised, and supplemented with additional content in order to create this new text focusing exclusively on wetland ecosystems. This book now complements Wetlands, Fourth Edition. Following an introduction to ecosystems in general and wetland ecosystems in particular, Wetland Ecosystems examines the major types of wetlands found throughout the world: coastal wetlands, freshwater marshes and forested swamps, and peatlands. The final chapter reviews three fundamental systems approaches to studying wetlands: mesocosms, full-scale experimental ecosystems, and mathematical modeling. This new text features: Updated descriptions of the hydrology, biogeochemistry, and biology of the main types of wetlands found in the world New content introducing general ecosystems, wetland ecosystems, whole ecosystem and mesocosm experiments with wetlands, and systems ecology and modeling A detailed description of the ecosystem services provided by wetlands A broad international scope, including many examples of wetlands located outside North America Two new coauthors offering new perspectives and additional insights into the latest ecosystem and modeling techniques An abundance of illustrations helps readers understand how different biological communities and the abiotic environment in wetland ecosystems interact and function. Tables and text boxes provide at-a-glance summaries of key information. Lastly, each chapter concludes with a list of recommended readings. This text has been designed as an introduction for students and professionals in wetland ecology and management, general ecology, environmental science, and natural resource management.

This title will introduce readers to wetland ecosystems, the plants and animals that thrive there, its climate, its food web, any threats to it, and conservation efforts. Readers will also learn about the most well known wetlands and their unique characteristics. . Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Wetlands are areas that are saturated with water for most periods of a season. It becomes a distinct ecosystem due to the presence of hydric soil and unique vegetation that is found there. Wetlands naturally act as barriers against floods as well as provide water sources to animals and humans. Over usage and despoiling of wetlands, which otherwise take longer time to replenish and sustain itself, have led to newer research that focuses on preservation and management of wetlands. This book brings forth some of the most innovative concepts elucidates the unexplored aspects of wetland ecosystems. It strives to provide a fair idea about this discipline and to help better understanding within this field. Scientists and students actively engaged in this field will find this book full of crucial and unexplored concepts.

Tundra introduces the first three books in its important new ecosystems series. Each title celebrates the world’s diversity by presenting a different ecosystem: its land and water, its animals and plants. The art is brimming with creatures and ecological features, described in fact-filled notes at the end of each book and in a useful glossary and map. Swamps are often seen as a dangerous and useless. They are often drained to create farmland or to reduce diseases. But such measures can be disastrous. Who Needs a Swamp? explores wetlands and their importance in the food chain and in preserving our soil and clean water. Not only is each book informative and beautiful, but it is a call to action for everybody who cares about the world in which we live.

"Wetlands" has become a hot word in the current environmental debate. But what does it signify? In 1991, proposed changes in the legal definities of wetlands stirred controversy and focused attention on the scientific and economic aspects of their management. This volume explores how to define wetlands. The committee--whose members were drawn from academia, government, business, and the environmental community--builds a rational, scientific basis for delineating wetlands in the landscape and offers recommendations for further action. Wetlands also discusses the diverse hydrological and ecological functions of wetlands, and makes recommendations concerning so-called controversial areas such as permafrost wetlands, riparian ecosystems, irregularly flooded sites, and agricultural wetlands. It presents criteria for identifying wetlands and explores the problems of applying those criteria when there are seasonal changes in water levels. This comprehensive and practical volume will be of interest to environmental scientists and advocates, hydrologists, policymakers, regulators, faculty, researchers, and students of environmental studies.

Coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea level and the intervention of human populations both along the estuary and in the river catchment. Direct impacts include the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures. Indirect impacts derive from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands in most areas of the world migrate landward to occupy former uplands. The competition of these lands from human development is intensifying, making the landward migration impossible in many cases. This book provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide, and suggestions for their management. In this book a CD is included containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world. * Includes a CD containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world.

Describes the wetlands biome, including climate, geology, geography and biodiversity.

Exchange of water, heat and other energy components between wetlands and the lower portion of the atmosphere is essential for functioning and development of these ecosystems, and for the decisions related to conservation or modification of wetlands. Transformation of the energy components by key parts of the ecosystem, such as water body and vegetated canopy, and complex exchange between the latter are often described in terms of energy fluxes. In this book, the diurnal and seasonal exchange of water, energy and heat storage is quantified, and compared across three wetland communities: reedgrass, bulrush, and open water. Total water loss is partitioned into surface evaporation and plant canopy transpiration, and examined in terms of main controlling variables. Actual, potential and equilibrium evapotranspiration rates are also examined in the framework of Penman-Monteith and McNaughton-Spriggs models, leading to an improvement in understanding the mechanisms of the water loss in wetlands. This study could be useful for professionals in Natural and Ecosystem Sciences, Hydrology, and in Natural Resources and Water Management.