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Environmental effects of wetland destruction
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The advantages and disadvantages of wetland restoration or construction depend on the location and how badly degraded the area has become. Passive means of restoration, although less costly, can be slow and don’t offer as many immediate benefits. Active means of restoration or construction may allow the newly restored wetland to have an immediate effect on the area including reduction in flooding, but this can be a very costly process (Habitat NOAA, 2015). New construction will negative affect other species that are currently living in the area and can bring competing species that can cause additional problems. However, there are many advantages of using wetlands to protect from flood waters. As they are natural structures and are frequently found on the coast already in areas that experience flooding, they can be restored and will be able to retain an increased amount of flood waters. Wetland restoration also protects native wildlife and vegetation that are important for the ecology of the areas …show more content…
Wetland reconstruction to areas that are not degraded fully can be a less expensive task to take on. Even in areas of the coast where some wetlands have been filled in, the expense associated with building wetlands is offset by the reduced erosion to the surrounding lands (EPA, 2015). Wetlands can hold large volumes of flood water or other types of precipitation which is invaluable to reducing the effects of flooding. Since these are natural structures and employ the use of native species, they are ecologically sound and contribute to the biodiversity of the areas they are found it. For South Carolina, they can contribute to reducing erosion on its beaches, as well as offer additional beauty to the landscape. I believe that wetland restoration, and also additional wetland construction, should be of high priority to reduce coastal flooding due to the many benefits received in addition to this
Climate Change and Global Warming cause sea levels to rise. This increase in sea levels not only causes inundation of low lying and coastal areas but also irrevocable damage to coastal environments. Globally the ocean is predicted to rise nearly 140 cm on a global scale by the year 2100 (Cooper et al. 2013); therefore this has massive implications for countries all around the world with cities (settlements etc.) based near bodies of water. When compared to the last 80 years this is an acceleration of nearly twice the rate that ...
I live in Houma, Louisiana so I have tons of experience with the bayou region of South Louisiana. Everywhere I look in Houma there is a bayou, which is a good and bad thing. With a bayou comes many great things such as Egrets, Spanish Moss, etc. The bad thing about seeing many bayous is that it is a constant reminder that one day, Houma might be a part of the Gulf of Mexico. Also my dad’s side of the family is from Chauvin and Golden Meadow which is not too far from where the real damage of eroding wetlands is. I go down to Chauvin sometimes to visit my Nanny and her husband. I always see houses on stilts because of possible flooding that could come if a hurricane passes through. One of the issues that Mike Tidwell caught my interest was that the wildlife in bayous will one day be diminished into smaller numbers. That is because the eroding land causes brown shrimp, crabs, and other seafood to die out. Many residents in South Louisiana make a living off of seafood so to have most of that industry die out will hurt the economy of South Louisiana. I just found this issue very interesting.
The first mitigation banking guidance was released in 1995 by the EPA and Corps of Engineers. The most recent wetland mitigation banking guidance was released in 2008. The idea behind both wetland mitigation banking and conservation banking is to provide compensation for unavoidable impacts to resources prior to the environmental impact taking place (FWS, 2003). Based on the rules set forth in section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and section 404 of the Clean Water Act, wetland impacts are reduced by using the following sequence of steps: avoiding impacts, minimizing impacts, and as a last resort, mitigating for impacts. Although the Corps has enforced a mitigation policy to reg...
Fifty percent of the original wetlands doesn’t even exist today. The water supply in the Everglades is changing and that has affected the Everglades in many ways. For one, population is decreasing and mankind needs to restore it somehow. Next, the Everglades are in need of some money to do that restoration, but where will they get it from? Last, the water supply is poisoning the humanity around it with much bacteria and many bad and dangerous elements. The Everglades water supply affected it in fixing the Everglades and wildlife.
They also look after the quality of coastal waters by watering down, sifting, and settling deposits, left-over nutrients and contaminants. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide habitats and act as nurseries for all manner of life.
Office of Water (2006) Wetlands: Protecting Life and Property from Flooding, Washington: Environmental Protection Agency
Authorities at LSU's Hurricane Center and Water Resources Research Institute, and US Army Corps of Engineers lead a discussion of how Louisiana's coastal region is doomed to storm surges. A case in point is the deterioration of the Mississippi Delta, a triangular-shaped deposition of sediment, which works to mitigate flooding and damage caused by storm surges. In fact, every four miles of the delta could knock down a storm surge by one foot. Unfortunately, some areas of the delta like Port Fouchon are losing 40 to 50 feet of land per year. By 2090, experts at LSU have postulated that the delta will be gone - vulnerably leaving New Orleans on the sea. Aside from the delta, barrier islands and marshes are the only other two natural entities which could mitigate a storm surge. The barrier islands' black mangrove trees and the marshes' tall grasses interfere with incoming gulf currents. However, just like the Mississippi Delta, these natural entities are also eroding (Fischetti, 2001).
This is a result from the new levee system. This system prevents the natural ways of sediment re-depositing along the riverbank and wetlands. The levees lead the sediment to deposit off the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. (15) This adds to the loss of wetlands along the coast. Wetlands are important to the economy in more than one way. They serve as homes for fish which fishermen catch then sell and they protect the mainland from getting the full effect of storm surge during a hurricane. “Every 2.7 miles of wetlands absorbs one foot of storm surge” (1.2). Without wetlands and barrier islands working as a barrier, the mainland could experience even more damage during
The tidal salt marshes make vital contributions to the ecosystem in Jamaica Bay. The marshes help spawning processes and are primary nursery for species important to both recreational and commercial uses, providing protection from storm surges, and also removing pollutants and other toxic substances, which as a result, acts as a natural filter, improving the water quality in the bay. Salt marshes are low lying, grasslands that periodically become overwhelmed and drained by high tides. The fish and shellfish nurseries and are also a feeding ground for various species of wildlife in the ecosystem. They support a variety of invertebrates such as mussels, shrimp, oysters and horseshoe crabs that are key elements of the estuarine ecosystem. However, throughout the past few decades, the salt marshes at Jamaica Bay has significantly declined which created a tremendous negative impact on the general public in addition to the deterioration on the living habitats in the area. Many factors contribute to the decline such as sediment depletion, neighboring developments, increased tidal ranges, and especially nitrogen loading from untreated sewage. Although the damages done were unintentional, much of it was occurred due to negligence. As awareness has increased, restoration efforts have escalated as well as various groups respond well to mitigate the losses.
Landfills have been around for a long time. They have been used to get rid of our garbage so we don’t have to figure out how. Some think landfills are still a good idea. However there are many people that think landfills are harmful to us. There are other things that we in the United States can do to help with removal of our garbage or waste besides send it to the landfills. So closing down landfills would be a good idea or we could close down as many as we can. To be able to get rid of the landfills Americans need to learn more about composting, recycling and incineration as other forms of waste removal.
...e miles per year prior to Hurricane Katrina and the levee breaks increased this. The wetlands were already being affected by oil and gas development, rising sea levels, and an invasion by an aggressive beaver like rodent called the nutrias. (Rastogi)
Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.
Between 300 and 400 million people worldwide live in areas near wetlands and depend on them. Wetlands are mechanisms for treatment of wastewater are extremely efficient because they absorb chemicals and filter pollutants and sediments. Half the world's wetlands have disappeared due to urbanization and industrial development. The only way to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction will be through better management of rivers and wetlands, and the land they drain and drain as well as through increased investment in them.
Wetlands are highly productive ecosystems. Wetlands include marshes, estuaries, bogs, fens, swamps, deltas, shallow seas, and floodplains. Wetland habitats support a vast range of plant and animal life, and serve a variety of important functions, which include water regime regulation, flood control, erosion control, nursery areas for fishes, fish production, recreation, plant production, aesthetic enjoyment, and wildlife habitat. Wetlands account for about 6% of the global land area and are among the most valuable environmental resources.
The study area consisted of Latah and Benewoh in Idaho, USA. The research used a total of 105 sites to collect data; ranking the areas from lowest to highest elevation. The methods implemented in this research consisted of wetland sampling, mail survey and habitat modelling. The combined results allowed for better insight for the conservation of these species. The first section of the experiment consist...