Skip to main content

Climate Change and Wetlands

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Wetland Book
  • 282 Accesses

Abstract

Projected changes in the climate are expected to increase temperatures, modify precipitation, raise sea levels, and increase extreme climate events with large impacts on wetlands, including their occurrence and extent, vegetation structure, ecological processes and functions, as well as the livelihoods and wellbeing of the people that depend on the wetlands and their ecosystem services. Some changes in wetland species have already been observed with both freshwater and marine species shifting their geographic ranges, seasonal activities, and migration patterns. At the same time it has been recognized that some wetlands store and emit greenhouse gases with their degradation and destruction contributing to greater releases of such gases and negative implications for atmospheric temperatures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alexander S, Nelson CR, Aronson J, Lamb D, Cliquet A, Erwin KL, Finlayson CM, de Groot RS, Harris JA, Higgs ES, Hobbs RJ, Lewis III RR, Martinez D, Murcia C. Opportunities and challenges for ecological restoration within REDD+. Restor Ecol. 2011;19:683–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • An S, Tian Z, Cai Y, Wen T, Xu D, Jiang H, Yao Z, Guan B, Sheng S, Ouyang O, Cheng X. Wetlands of Northeast Asia and High Asia: an overview. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:63–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cızkova H, Kvet J, Comın FA, Laiho R, Pokorny J, Pithart D. Actual state of European wetlands and their possible future in the context of global climate change. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:3–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson NC. How much wetland has the world lost? Long-term and recent trends in global wetland area. Mar Freshw Res. 2014;65:934–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson CM. Forty years of wetland conservation and wise use. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshwat Ecosyst. 2012;22:139–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson CM, Davidson NC, Spiers AG, Stevenson NJ. Global wetland inventory–current status and future priorities. Mar Freshw Res. 1999;50:717–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson CM, Gitay H, Bellio MG, van Dam RA, Taylor I. Climate variability and change and other pressures on wetlands and waterbirds – impacts and adaptation. In: Boere G, Gailbraith C, Stroud D, editors. Water birds around the world. Edinburgh: Scottish Natural Heritage; 2006. p. 88–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson CM, Davidson N, Pritchard D, Milton GR, MacKay H. The Ramsar Convention and ecosystem-based approaches to the wise use and sustainable development of wetlands. J Int Wildl Law Policy. 2011;14:176–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson CM, Davis JA, Gell PA, Kingsford RT, Parton KA. The status of wetlands and the predicted effects of global climate change: the situation in Australia. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:73–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galbraith H, DesRochers DW, Brown S, Reed JM. Predicting vulnerabilities of North American shorebirds to climate change. PLoS One. 2014;9(9):e108899. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108899.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Gitay H, Finlayson CM, Davidson NC. A framework for assessing the vulnerability of wetlands to climate change, Ramsar technical report no. 5/CBD technical series no. 57. Gland/Montreal: Ramsar Convention Secretariat/Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gopal B. Future of wetlands in tropical and subtropical Asia, especially in the face of climate change. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:39–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herr D, Pidgeon E, Laffoley D, editors. Blue carbon policy framework: based on the first workshop of the international blue carbon policy working group. Gland/Arlington: IUCN; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiraishi T, Krug T, Tanabe K, Srivastava N, Baasansuren J, Fukuda M, Troxler T, editors. Supplement to the 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories: wetlands. Geneva: IPCC; 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horwitz P, Finlayson CM, Weinstein P. Healthy wetlands, healthy people. A review of wetlands and human health interactions, Ramsar technical report no. 6. Gland: Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands/the World Health Organisation; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. Summary for policymakers. In: Climate change 2014: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Part A: global and sectoral aspects. contribution of working group II to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press; 2014. p. 1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Joosten H, Tapio-Biström M-L, Tol S, editors. Peatlands – guidance for climate change mitigation by conservation, rehabilitation and sustainable use, Mitigation of climate change in agriculture series, vol. 5. Rome: FAO; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ. Current state of knowledge regarding South America wetlands and their future under global climate change. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:113–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ, An S, Finlayson CM, Gopal B, KvÄ›t J, Mitchell SA, Mitsch WJ, Robarts RD. Current state of knowledge regarding the world’s wetlands and their future under global climate change: a synthesis. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:151–67.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd C, Finlayson CM, Rebelo L-M. Providing low-budget estimations of carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural wetlands. Environ Res Lett. 2013;8. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lukasiewicz A, Finlayson CM, Pittock J. Identifying low risk climate change adaptation in catchment management while avoiding unintended consequences. Gold Coast: National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility; 2013. p. 103.

    Google Scholar 

  • MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). Ecosystems and human well-being, wetlands and water synthesis. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute; 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell SA. The status of wetlands, threats and the predicted effect of global climate change: the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:95–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Hernandez ME. Landscape and climate change threats to wetlands of North and Central America. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:133–49.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Page SE, Rieley JO, Banks CJ. Global and regional importance of the tropical peatland carbon pool. Glob Chang Biol. 2011;17:798–818.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsar Convention Secretariat. Ramsar handbooks for the wise use of wetlands. 4th ed. Gland: Ramsar Convention Secretariat; 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robarts RD, Zhulidov AV, Pavlov DF. The State of knowledge about wetlands and their future under aspects of global climate change: the situation in Russia. Aquat Sci. 2013;75:27–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. Max Finlayson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this entry

Cite this entry

Finlayson, C.M. (2016). Climate Change and Wetlands. In: Finlayson, C., et al. The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6172-8_126-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6172-8_126-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6172-8

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

Publish with us

Policies and ethics