Why Wetlands Matter: 6 Key Ecosystem Services that Wetlands Provide
The concept of ecosystem services is critical in the field of ecology and in the management of natural resources. In brief, ecosystem services are benefits to humanity provided by healthy, sustainable, well-functioning environments. Here we describe six key examples for wetland habitat.
1) Products for human consumption. Contrary to what you may assume, wetlands do provide economically important natural resources!
Fishing: Many species of freshwater fish use wetlands for spawning and for rearing young through the early stages of their life cycle.
Peat: Bogs are farmed for peat, which is the accumulation of decomposed organic matter that serves as the substrate for plant growth in those habitats. Peat has many uses—as a fuel for heating (in northern Europe), as a growing medium or soil amendment in horticulture, and specialized uses in health care and even distillery.
Urban Forestry: Tree and shrub species native to floodplains are often well suited for boulevard plantings because they are adapted to the compacted soils common in both urban settings and silty floodplain sediments.
Wild Rice: Wild rice (Zizania palustris) is an annual grass of freshwater lakes and waterways that requires specific water levels at each stage of development. It’s actually a grass unrelated to cultivated rice. From four to eight million pounds are wild-harvested annually and sold worldwide – most of the world’s supply, in fact, comes from Minnesota. It is also cultivated on about 20,000 acres statewide. Wild rice is sacred to the Ojibwe Indians, who know it as manoomin. It is also an important food source for waterfowl.
Many species of freshwater fish, including trout, use wetlands for spawning and for rearing young through the early stages of their life cycle.
2) Habitat for insects and higher organisms
Wetlands are home to specialized plants and the insects that use them for nectar, nesting, and shelter. Supporting native bee populations across the variety of habitats on a landscape is vital to agriculture—native bees are responsible for a quarter of the insect pollination of U.S. crops. Wetlands are also hotbeds of biodiversity for amphibians, birds, and mammals that thrive in these habitats.
Wetlands are home to specialized insects that use them for nectar, nesting, and shelter. Supporting wetland habitat for pollinator populations is vital to agriculture.
3) Genetic Diversity of plant and animal species
When natural habitats are well-represented and well-distributed across the landscape, the native plants that thrive in them are exposed to a wider variety of conditions and also have more opportunity to crossbreed with nearby populations. This keeps native plant populations resilient and adaptive to environmental change, thereby reinforcing the whole suite of ecosystem services we’re discussing. Also, wetlands in Minnesota are home to rare and endangered species that specialize in these habitats. For example, sixty state-listed plant species (endangered, threatened, and special concern) are wetland specialists. Healthy wetlands promote species and genetic diversity, and vice versa.
4) Regulation of the physical environment
Here’s where wetlands really stand out! Healthy wetlands ensure flood protection and shoreline erosion control. They’re basically a sponge that can dry out during periods of drought and absorb water during periods of heavy rainfall, preventing excess water from “spilling” into the uplands. Wetland plant species are adapted to these fluctuations in moisture.
5) Carbon Sequestration, which contributes to Climate Stability
Though wetlands cover only 5–8% of the Earth’s land surface, they hold 20–30% of global soil carbon. That’s because wetlands are low-oxygen environments that accumulate slowly decomposing organic matter such as peat. This obviously has important implications for keeping carbon out of the atmosphere and reducing the concentration of greenhouse gasses and their warming effects on the planet.
6) Chemical and Microbial Processes
Wetlands are important “organs” for processes such as nutrient cycling, groundwater recharge, pollution control, and water purification. For example, pollutants from upland may be transported toward water bodies in the runoff from rain but are intercepted, absorbed, and processed by wetland vegetation.
A Commitment to “No Net Loss”
Essentially, it is because of the recognized ecosystem services performed by wetlands, and the measurable economic benefits these services provide, that Minnesota maintains its commitment to no net loss of wetlands, which is the principle guiding wetland mitigation banking.
Tangible and Intangible Values
The examples described above represent tangible values—the benefits provided are in units that can be measured. More and more, in fact, ecosystem services can be quantified in economic terms—but more on that below. Ecosystem services also include intangible values as well—those more dependent on subjective human perception. Intangible ecosystem services include recreational opportunities, aesthetic appeal, and benefits we might call psychological or spiritual. Examples related to wetlands included bird watching, hunting and fishing, and hiking.
>>Read More: Waterfowl Wonderland
The Economic Value of Ecosystem Services
We are increasingly able to economically quantify the ecosystem services provided by natural ecosystems. The economic value is typically calculated as the monetary impact of losing these services. For example, it would be possible to calculate the value of a wetland’s pollution control by determining what it would cost to treat the water for removal of pollutants. It would be possible to calculate the value of a wetland’s shoreline stabilization by determining the cost to preserve an eroding shoreline through an engineering project.
Wetland restoration can also be of value when utilized as a wetland mitigation bank credit program, which provides compensation to landowners for restoring wetlands on their property. These credits can also be bought by people to offset environmental impacts they may cause by new development (putting in a parking lot, pipelines, etc.).
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Contact MPI today with your ecological restoration and mitigation banking project needs. Our team is ready with answers and expert services to bring your vision to life.
Mitigation Partners, Inc. Founders Dax Dickson & Tory Christensen
