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Wetlands of the World

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The Wetland Book

Abstract

The Wetland Book is a first “port-of-call” reference work on the description, distribution and conservation issues for wetlands globally. The contributions in the work summarize key concepts, orient the reader to major issues, and aid in further research on issues by multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams. Here we introduce the book which includes articles broadly covering Ramsar defined inland and coastal wetlands structured in sections on diversity of wetland types, natural and anthropogenic drivers of wetland change, and regional compilations of individual or wetland complexes. Overview articles typically describe the diversity within the wetland type, its distribution, extent, ecosystem services, biodiversity, and threats and future challenges. Regional contributions adhere to a general format describing the basic ecology of the system; uniqueness; distribution; biodiversity and species adaptations; ecosystem services with an emphasis on importance to dependent peoples where appropriate; conservation status and management; and threats and future challenges. A general conclusion that can be drawn from all articles is that wetlands are still under significant threat to loss and degradation from human impacts including climate change and concerted action is required among all levels of society in the management and conservation of these dynamic ecosystems.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources, 136 Exhibition St., B4N 4E5, Kentville, NS, Canada

    G. Randy Milton

  2. Nature Management Services, 24 Merton Road, Cambridge, CB24 9JW, UK

    R. Crawford Prentice

  3. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, PO Box 789, 2640, Albury, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  4. The Institute for Water Education UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands

    C. Max Finlayson

Authors
  1. G. Randy Milton
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  2. R. Crawford Prentice
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  3. C. Max Finlayson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Randy Milton .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Ecology and Biodiversity, Charles Sturt University Inst. for Land, Water and Society, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Max Finlayson

  2. Dept. of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada

    G. Randy Milton

  3. Nature Management Services, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

    R. Crawford Prentice

  4. Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Nick C. Davidson

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© 2016 Crown Copyright

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Milton, G.R., Prentice, R.C., Finlayson, C.M. (2016). Wetlands of the World. In: Finlayson, C., Milton, G., Prentice, R., Davidson, N. (eds) The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6173-5_182-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6173-5_182-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6173-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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