Nitrogen Farming: Harvesting a Different Crop

The streams of North America convey excessive amounts of nitrate‐nitrogen, the effects of which range from eutrophication of local surface waters to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The vast majority of the nitrate load can be attributed to agricultural sources. The diffuse nature of these sources defies the more traditional treatment strategies. The concrete and steel structures of point‐source control are impractical and economically unfeasible. An alternative solution is needed. One possibility is “nitrogen farming.” Nitrogen farms could employ restored wetlands in floodplains and on bottomlands to remove the excess nitrate‐nitrogen and, at the same time, provide the landowner an alternative crop. A means of buying and selling the harvest will be necessary to initiate nitrogen farming. The market could be similar to those for corn and soybeans. It would encourage landowners to enter or leave nitrogen farming depending on the price of nitrogen credits and the efficiency of their farm unit. The concept of nitrogen farming is applied to the Illinois River watershed.     

Brazil’s Market for Trading Forest Certificates

Brazil faces an enormous challenge to implement its revised Forest Code. Despite big losses for the environment, the law introduces new mechanisms to facilitate compliance and foster payment for ecosystem services (PES). The most promising of these is a market for trading forest certificates (CRAs) that allows landowners to offset their restoration obligations by paying for maintaining native vegetation elsewhere. We analyzed the economic potential for the emerging CRA market in Brazil and its implications for PES programs. Results indicate a potential market for trading 4.2 Mha of CRAs with a gross value of US$ 9.2±2.4 billion, with main regional markets forming in the states of Mato Grosso and São Paulo. This would be the largest market for trading forests in the world. Overall, the potential supply of CRAs in Brazilian states exceeds demand, creating an opportunity for additional PES programs to use the CRA market. This expanded market could provide not only monetary incentives to conserve native vegetation, but also environmental co-benefits by fostering PES programs focused on biodiversity, water conservation, and climate regulation. Effective implementation of the Forest Code will be vital to the success of this market and this hurdle brings uncertainty into the market. Long-term commitment, both within Brazil and abroad, will be essential to overcome the many challenges ahead.     

Conservation information: a market incentive to promote environmental quality

The land market in part of New South Wales, Australia, has been shown to conserve the soil and promote sustainable agriculture. The market incentive at work is the availability of information on the erosion status of the land. This paper explores the general possibility that provision of market information on environmental characteristics will lead to improvements in environmental quality. In this way the market would encourage landowners to conserve their land, retain native vegetation, improve biodiversity and pursue sustainable agriculture. They would do all this automatically, without government regulations, bans or moratoria, and without a new government agency or new act to implement the policy. The government officers would merely show buyers and sellers in the land market where to obtain, and how to use, the relevant information.     

Flood Reduction through Wetland Restoration: The Upper Mississippi River Basin as a Case History

Despite this nation's massive effort during the past 90 years to build levees throughout the upper Mississippi Basin, mean annual flood damage in the region has increased 140% during that time. These levees exacerbate the flood damage problem by increasing river stage and velocity. Thus, rather than continuing to rely on structural solutions for flood control, it is time to develop a comprehensive flood management strategy that includes using wetlands to intercept and hold precipitation where it falls and store flood waters where they occur. History testifies to the truth of this premise: it was the rampant drainage of wetlands in the nineteenth century that gave rise to many of today's water resources management problems. The 1993 flood verifies the need for additional wetlands: the amount of excess water that passed St. Louis during the 1993 flood would have covered a little more than 13 million acres —half of the wetland acreage drained since 1780 in the upper Mississippi Basin. By strategically placing at least 13 million acres of wetlands on hydric soils in the basin, we can solve the basin's flooding problems in an ecologically sound manner.     

The value of wetlands for water quality improvement: an example from the St. Johns River watershed,Florida

Wetlands provide many valuable ecosystem functions such as sediment and nutrient retention, high biological productivity and biodiversity, flood control, and opportunities to recreate. Despite their importance, estimating the value of wetlands is difficult as the worth of these functions and services is not easily quantified. The overall objective of this study was to estimate the value of freshwater wetlands in the Saint Johns River (SJR) watershed, Florida based on their ability to remove nutrients, namely nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). We used a combination of literature review, geospatial analysis of land cover, and regression analysis to determine the total wetland area in the SJR watershed and the rates of nitrogen and phosphorus burial in the wetlands. We then estimated the economic value of these wetlands based on the replacement cost of nutrient removal by wastewater treatment plants. Nitrogen burial rates ranged from 27 g/m²/year to a background rate of 6.56 g/m²/year, and phosphorus burial rates range from 1.31 g/m²/year to a background of 0.11 g/m²/year. Using these rates, we calculate wetlands of the SJR catchment remove 79,873 MT of nitrogen annually just from burial in the soil, with a replacement cost of between $240 million to $150 billion per year. The amount of phosphorus buried yearly is more than 2400 MT with an annual replacement cost of $17 to $497 million. Though they are based on limited data and include a variety of watershed-scale research limitations, these findings highlight the significant potential value of conserving functional wetlands based solely on their nutrient retention functions. If we were to consider the benefits associated with other wetland functions such as flood control, biological productivity, and biodiversity in addition to their ability to retain nutrients, the value of the SJR wetlands would be even greater.     

How willing are landowners to supply land for bioenergy crops in the Northern Great Lakes Region?

Land to produce biomass is essential if the United States is to expand bioenergy supply. Use of agriculturally marginal land avoids the food vs. fuel problems of food price rises and carbon debt that are associated with crop and forestland. Recent remote sensing studies have identified large areas of US marginal land deemed suitable for bioenergy crops. Yet the sustainability benefits of growing bioenergy crops on marginal land only pertain if land is economically available. Scant attention has been paid to the willingness of landowners to supply land for bioenergy crops. Focusing on the northern tier of the Great Lakes, where grassland transitions to forest and land prices are low, this contingent valuation study reports on the willingness of a representative sample of 1124 private, noncorporate landowners to rent land for three bioenergy crops: corn, switchgrass, and poplar. Of the 11% of land that was agriculturally marginal, they were willing to make available no more than 21% for any bioenergy crop (switchgrass preferred on marginal land) at double the prevailing land rental rate in the region. At the same generous rental rate, of the 28% that is cropland, they would rent up to 23% for bioenergy crops (corn preferred), while of the 55% that is forestland, they would rent up to 15% for bioenergy crops (poplar preferred). Regression results identified deterrents to land rental for bioenergy purposes included appreciation of environmental amenities and concern about rental disamenities. In sum, like landowners in the southern Great Lakes region, landowners in the Northern Tier are reluctant to supply marginal land for bioenergy crops. If rental markets existed, they would rent more crop and forestland for bioenergy crops than they would marginal land, which would generate carbon debt and opportunity costs in wood product and food markets.     

A multi-criteria,ecosystem-service value method used to assess catchment suitability for potential wetland reconstruction in Denmark

Wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services such as drought resistance, flood resistance, nutrient deposition, biodiversity, etc. This study presents a new multi-criteria, ecosystems service value-driven method to drive the optimal placement of restored wetlands in terms of maximizing selected ecosystem services which a wetland can provide or affect. We aim to answer two questions: 1) which of the ecosystem services indicators defines the placement of wetlands today? 2) Based on the ecosystem services indicator assessment, what are the recommendations for future selection of catchments for potential wetland reconstruction (i.e. restoration)?Five key ecosystem services indicators produced or affected by wetlands in Denmark were mapped (recreational potential, biodiversity, nitrogen mitigation potential, inverse land rent, and flash-flood risk). These services were compared to current placements of wetlands. Furthermore, scenario testing and hotspot analysis were combined to provide future recommendations for optimal placements of wetlands. The scenarios investigated were Climate Adaptation and Protection of Aquatic Environment, Land-Based Economy, and Rich Nature. Based on these scenarios, the most suitable areas for wetland reconstruction were mapped, taking both the scenarios and attached weightings of ecosystem services indicators into account.According to statistical results current reconstructed wetlands are situated in catchments with lower biodiversity, higher nitrogen mitigation potential, higher land rent (i.e. agricultural intensive areas), and to some extent higher flash flood risk compared to the median of catchments with wetlands. Hence, recreation potential, high biodiversity, and low land rent has not been prioritized. 35 out of the 3023 catchments investigated were identified with an especially high suitability when optimizing all scenarios. This coincides with a high suitability around peri-urban and urban areas and near natural areas, hence capturing both supply and demand services. Of the 35 identified catchments with potentially high suitability, only 2 actually hold a presently reconstructed wetland. This indicates a prior placement with almost no consideration of maximizing ecosystem services benefits.We recommend a systematic approach, such as the ecosystem service value-driven method demonstrated in the present case study, to target more services and improve the overall benefit from wetlands. This approach seeks to inform decision makers of synergies in the landscape, which is likely to transcend future policy implementations.     

Urban pollutant removal by a constructed riparian wetland before typhoon damage and after reconstruction

Flood damage as a result of an extreme weather event is always a potential threat to constructed riparian wetlands in subtropical regions, and such damage can significantly impair the pollutant-removing performance of these wetlands The present study compares the pollutant-removal performance of the Hsin-Hai Bridge constructed wetland in the Tan-shui River basin of metropolitan Taipei in September 2000 (before the system was inundated by flood as a result of Typhoon Aere’) and in mid-October 2004 (after reconstruction of the wetland). The study analyses biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonia nitrogen (NH₄-N), and total phosphorus (TP) of influents and effluents in each of several compartments and for the system as a whole before the typhoon and after reconstruction. The study finds that performance with respect to BOD and NH₄-N was marginally reduced (with no statistical significance) after reconstruction, but that performance with respect to TP was markedly improved (with statistical significance) after reconstruction. The study provides possible explanations for these findings and concludes that wetlands can be successfully reconstructed after extreme flood damage.     

Enhancing the fish production potential of Lake Victoria papyrus wetlands,Kenya, using seasonal flood-dependent ponds

We present the findings of a participatory experiment on integrated aquaculture-agriculture systems (Fingerponds) at the Lake Victoria wetlands, Kenya. Fingerponds are flood-based lacustrine or floodplain wetland fishponds. The aim of the study was to explore, within a wetland/floodplain interface environment, the potential of semi-intensive fish production to enhance the wetland fishery and protect the natural ecosystem from wide-scale, destructive encroachment. The ponds were stocked naturally by flood water. After flood recession, livestock manure was added to the ponds and the effects of manuring on water and sediment quality and fish yields were studied. Manuring had positive effects on the nitrogen, phosphorous and chlorophyll a concentrations of the pond water. Regression analysis results indicated that site, manuring and environmental and climatic variables explained 58–70% of the variation in dissolved nitrogen and phosphorous, and 71% of the variation in chorophyll a. Manuring enhanced the total phosphorus concentration in the sediment but it only had marginal effects on total nitrogen. Although the net fish yields were highly variable between sites and seasons, ranging from 402 to 1069 kg ha⁻¹, the data showed that manuring was advantageous. The duration of the culture period, site variability and manuring explained 82% of the variation in fish yields. We conclude that Fingerponds fertilized with livestock manure from abutting riparian subsistence agriculture can improve fish production, enhance food diversity and security and contribute to more efficient use of papyrus wetlands for food production. This in turn may reduce large-scale conversion of wetlands to agriculture.     

内蒙古高原典型草原区河漫滩湿地植物群落退化表征

草原区河流河漫滩草甸是生物多样性表现最充分和生物生产力最高的地段, 但由于过度放牧利用, 绝大部分草甸处于退化状态。该文以锡林河流域中游的河漫滩草甸为研究对象, 比较分析了围封保育湿地与放牧退化湿地的群落组成、地上生物量, 以及共有植物种的植株高度、节间长、叶长、叶宽, 土壤含水量、容重, 群落地下根量及根的分布, 土壤微生物生物量碳、氮的变化。结果表明: 1)放牧使得湿地植物群落优势种发生变化, 原有湿生植物逐渐向旱生化转变, 同时地上及地下生物量明显降低。2)退化湿地的植物呈现显著小型化现象。3)放牧退化湿地的土壤含水量较围封保育湿地低, 其垂直分布及地下根的垂直分布也发生变化。在低河漫滩, 土壤水分随土层的增加而增加, 根量也趋于深层化。但在高河漫滩湿地, 土壤含水量接近典型草原, 根未出现深层化分布趋势。4)放牧践踏引起土壤容重和土壤紧实度增加。5)放牧使得低河漫滩湿地土壤微生物生物量增加, 而在过渡区及高河漫滩湿地, 放牧使得土壤微生物生物量碳、氮含量显著降低。     

Response of wetland plant communities to inundation within floodplain landscapes

Summary Many floodplain wetlands in south‐eastern Australia have become isolated from the main river channel as a consequence of reduced high flows and associated flood events following river regulation. In the Central Murray region of south‐eastern Australia, many temporary wetlands would have received water once every five years or so, with large floods maintaining floodplain connectivity every decade, under natural conditions. Now, the River Murray is highly regulated and many of these wetland areas have not been flooded for periods of up to 30 years. Consequently, these wetlands are becoming degraded and the biodiversity of the area is in decline. From 2001–2003, 21 Black Box depression wetlands in the Central Murray region were each watered once. Plant communities in each wetland were monitored for changes in abundance (assessed as percentage cover) before and during the wetting and drying phases. Wetlands were watered during spring or early summer with the length of inundation ranging from 6 to 19 weeks. After watering, the percentage cover of native plant taxa and native plant functional groups in most wetlands increased. In general, there was a decrease in the percentage number of terrestrial plants present and an increase in the percentage cover of aquatic plants. Introduced species were a minor component. Although these wetlands are all located in the Central Murray region, individual wetlands developed plant communities that contained taxa specific to individual wetlands despite initial similarities. These results indicate that wetland plant biodiversity within the landscape can be promoted and maintained by ensuring there is a diversity of wetlands with varying flood regimes within the landscape.     

Flood plain wetland fisheries of India: with special reference to impact of climate change

Floodplain wetlands of India are biologically rich sensitive ecosystem that support unique aquatic biodiversity and play vital role in providing livelihood and nutritional security to a large section of the population of the country. Besides contributing to the environmental sustainability through Carbon sequestration, flood plain wetlands also serve as source for harvesting flood and rain water. Covering around 5.5 Lakh ha area, the flood plain wetlands of India are one of the major sources for fish production of the country, offering vast potential for capture as well as culture based fisheries. Degradation and shrinkage of the floodplain wetlands have been recorded due to several natural and anthropogenic reasons. In addition to that, the change in the climatic condition may have a far more devastating impact on these natural resources. Substantial change in climate with increasing temperature trend (0.60 °C during last 112 years) as well as changing pattern and intensity of rainfall have been reported in India. It is projected that extreme climate changes may have profound impact on wetlands, mediated through several direct or indirect pathways. Attention is urgently required at different levels for conservation and revamping of these resources along with coping up and mitigation strategies to address the impending challenges. However, there is dearth of scientific information specific to the flood plain wetlands of India. This paper reviews the present status and importance of the flood plain wetlands of India with special reference to impact of climate change along with coping-up and mitigation measures.     

Seasonal and spatial hydrological variability drives aquatic biodiversity in a flood‐pulsed,sub‐tropical wetland

1. Flood‐pulsed wetlands make vital contributions to local and global biodiversity. However, the patterns and controls of spatial and temporal variation in aquatic biodiversity in flood‐pulsed wetlands are not well understood. We analysed the relationship between variation in hydrological regime and the patterns of aquatic biodiversity in a large pristine flood‐pulsed wetland, the Okavango Delta, Botswana. 2. Surveys of water chemistry, diatoms and macroinvertebrates were conducted over the seasonal phases of the flood pulse. Hydrological variables of flood frequency and hydroperiod class were collated from 16 years of satellite images. Multivariate regression trees and generalised least squares regression were used to determine the chief controls of community composition and taxon richness. 3. Hydroperiod class, phase of the flood and conductivity explained 32% and 43% of the variation in diatom and invertebrate taxon richness, respectively. There was a negative relationship between hydroperiod class and invertebrate taxon richness on the rising, peak and receding flood, whereas at low flood there was no significant relationship. Multivariate regression tree analysis revealed hydroperiod class, phase of the flood and conductivity as the dominant forces shaping invertebrate and diatom community composition. 4. Seasonal and spatial variation in hydrological conditions are the principal drivers of variation in aquatic biodiversity in flood‐pulsed wetlands. In pristine flood‐pulsed wetlands, increased productivity caused by the arrival of the flood waters appears to override disturbance and connectivity in shaping taxon richness and community composition. Thus, these data suggest that the maintenance of a rich mosaic of habitats covering a broad range of hydroperiod is the key to preserving aquatic biodiversity and natural ecosystem function in flood‐pulsed wetlands.     

Algal richness and life‐history strategies are influenced by hydrology and phosphorus in two major subtropical wetlands

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不同水位时期东洞庭湖湿地土壤微生物生物量碳氮和酶活性变化

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基于MODIS的洞庭湖湿地面积对水文的响应

利用MODIS影像数据集提取了2000-2010年间的洞庭湖水面面积。结合城陵矶水位数据分析了10月-翌年5月洞庭湖水体湿地和洲滩湿地的面积变化。研究结果表明,洞庭湖水体湿地呈现明显减小的趋势。2010年2月、10月、12月较2000年2月、10月、12月相比,分别有29.98%、26.76%和9.02%水体湿地转化为洲滩湿地。城陵矶在24-26 m水位涨落的时序变化较大,使东洞庭湖草滩湿地提前出露。推迟淹没,洲滩湿地裸露时间延长,亦将导致低海拔的草滩湿地向芦苇滩湿地的演变。洞庭湖湿地面积的变化是三口、四水来水减少、降雨减少等多方因素共同作用的结果,而三峡在9-10月间蓄水,将进一步加重湿地洲滩化的趋势     

湿地甲烷代谢对氮输入响应的复杂性及其机制分析

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退化湿地生态系统恢复的一些理论问题

湿地是陆地和水生生态系统间的过渡带,作为一种重要的自然资源,湿地是野生生物的栖息地,可调控区域内的水分循环和C、N等元素的生物地球化学循环;其生物生产力可为人类提供食物和商品,还能过滤和分解所吸纳的污染物,由于湿地的功能未受到足够的重视。全世界的湿地因大量围垦和干扰而丧失或退化,在退化湿地的恢复过程中,可用自我设计和设计理论、演替理论、入侵理论、河流理论、洪水脉冲理论、边缘效应理论和中度干扰假说等理论作指导,湿地恢复的方法包括：尽可能采用工程与生物措施相结合的方法,恢复湿地的供水连接,利用水文过程加快恢复,控制污染物的流入,修饰湿地的地形或景观,改良湿地土壤,在最佳位置重建湿地的生物群落,减少人类干扰,提高湿地的自我维持能力,建立缓冲带以保护自然的和恢复的湿地,建立湿地稳定性和持续性的评价体系并予以监控。     

湿地退化的经济成因分析

运用环境经济学中的外部性与产权等理论,结合天然湿地的一些经济属性,对湿地退化的经济学原因进行探讨与分析,以期为湿地保护提供理论基础。湿地的“椎公共资源性”决定了在湿地资源的使用过程中不能排除他人使用这种财产的权利,以至造成对湿地的抢先使用和过度开发：从外部性理论的角度分析,湿地保护的正外部性行为未得到应有补偿,湿地破坏的负外部性行为未付出应有代价,缺乏正反两种外部性的补偿与制约是造成湿地退化的主要原因之一：湿地资源的特点决定其产权不完整,湿地保护者无法完整拥有湿地带来的所有收益或无法控制湿地收益的稳定,故而对湿地保护不足;湿地资源具有稀缺性,但由于其许多效益缺乏市场或湿地资源价格偏低,使得市场无法真实反映湿地资源的价值,造成湿地资源退化或丧失。     

Assessing the ecological value of wetlands using the MACBETH approach in Quebec City

Wetlands offer many social and ecological benefits, including by being highly productive environments, regulating climate and the global nitrogen cycle, supporting biological diversity, providing recreational and cultural services, reducing flood peaks, retaining sediment and contaminants, purifying water, acting as preferred groundwater recharge and discharge areas and providing habitat for wildlife. However, wetlands in urban regions are often threatened by development, which can fragment them, thus reducing the biodiversity and long term survival of such wetlands. On average, 50–55% of total wetland area has been lost in the United States and Canada since the European settlement. Many communities have therefore developed strategies, regulations and programs to protect their remaining wetlands. These initiatives often require that permit providers or planners who design such conservation strategies evaluate the costs and benefits of wetlands to society, but rarely that they define a method for this assessment. This study presents a method that was developed in collaboration with the City of Quebec to systematically assess the ecological value of wetlands within its boundaries. An index was created with a group of experts using the MACBETH approach. This process resulted in all 1347 wetland complexes in Quebec City being classified based on their ecological value. The model created on the basis of the decisions taken by consensus during the workshop appears to be an effective tool to provide an overview of the wetlands in Quebec City. The results are convincing and they accurately represent the perceptions expressed by the expert panel.