Abstract
One of the most important ecosystem services which links wetlands to human well-being is the regulation of climate. Through the storage and sequestration of carbon, wetlands play a significant role in global carbon cycles. However, wetlands can also act as a source and a sink for greenhouse gases and they can influence local and regional temperature, precipitation and other weather patterns. Increasingly, as a result of their important role in climate regulation, wetland management and restoration activities are being integrated into local, national and international programmes which aim to both mitigate and adapt to climate change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Bridgham SD, Megonigal JP, Keller JK, Bliss NB, Trettin C. The carbon balance of North American wetlands. Wetlands. 2006;26(4):889–916.
Connor RF, Chmuraa GA, Beecher CB. Carbon accumulation in Bay of Fundy salt marshes: implications for restoration of reclaimed marshes. Glob Biogeochem Cycles. 2001;15(4):943–54.
Crooks S, Herr D, Tamelander J, Laffoley D, Vanderver J. Mitigation of climate change through restoration and management of coastal wetlands and near-shore marine ecosystems: challenges and opportunities. World Bank Env. Dept Paper 121. 2011.
Donato DC, Kauffman JB, Murdiyarso D, Kurnianto S, Stidham M, Kanninen M. Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics. Nat Geosci. 2011;4:293–7.
Duarte CM, Middelburg JJ, Caraco N. Major role of marine vegetation on the oceanic carbon cycle. Biogeosciences. 2005;2:1–8.
Erwin KL. Wetlands and global climate change: the role of wetland restoration in a changing world. Wetl Ecol Manag. 2009;17(1):71–84.
Euliss Jr NH, Gleason RA, Olness A, McDougal RL, Murkin HR, Robarts RD, Bourbonniere RA, Warner BG. North American prairie wetlands are important nonforested land-based carbon storage sites. Sci Total Environ. 2006;361(1):179–88.
Forster P, Ramaswamy V, Artaxo P, Berntsen T, Betts R, Fahey DW, Haywood J, Lean J, Lowe DC, Myhre G, Nganga J, Prinn R, Raga G, Schulz M, Van Dorland R. Changes in atmospheric constituents and in radiative forcing. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z, Marquis M, Averyt KB, Tignor M, Miller HL, editors. Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
Fourqurean JW, Duarte CM, Kennedy H, Marbà N, Holmer M, Mateo MA, Apostolaki ET, Kendrick GA, Krause-Jensen D, McGlathery KJ, Serrano O. Seagrass ecosystems as a globally significant carbon stock. Nat Geosci. 2012;5(7):505–9.
Gorham E. Northern peatlands: role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to climatic warming. Ecol Appl. 1991;1:182–95.
Jaenicke J, Rieley JO, Mott C, Kimman P, Siegert F. Determination of the amount of carbon stored in Indonesian peatlands. Geoderma. 2008;147(3):151–8.
Joosten H. The global peatland CO2 picture: peatland status and drainage related emissions in all countries of the world. Netherlands: Wetlands International; 2009.
Kayranli B, Scholz M, Mustafa A, Hedmark Å. Carbon storage and fluxes within freshwater wetlands: a critical review. Wetlands. 2010;30(1):111–24.
Mcleod E, Chmura GL, Bouillon S, Salm R, Björk M, Duarte CM, Lovelock CE, Schlesinger WH, Silliman BR. A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitat in sequestering CO2. Front Ecol Environ. 2011;9:552–60.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and human well-being: wetland and water synthesis. 2005. http://www.millenniumassessment.org/proxy/Document. 358.
Mitsch WJ, Bernal B, Nahlik AM, Mander Ü, Zhang L, Anderson CJ, Jørgensen SE, Brix H. Wetlands, carbon, and climate change. Landsc Ecol. 2013;28(4):583–97.
Page SE, Rieley JO, Banks CJ. Global and regional importance of the tropical peatland carbon pool. Globa Chang Biol. 2011;17(2):798–818.
Pendleton L, Donato DC, Murray BC, Crooks S, Jenkins WA, Sifleet S, Craft C, Fourqurean JW, Kauffman JB, Marba N, Megonigal P, Pidgeon E, Herr D, Gordon D, Balder A. Estimating global “blue carbon” emissions from conversion and degradation of vegetated coastal ecosystems. PLoS One. 2012;7:e43542. doi:43510.41371/journal/pone.004342.
Pokorný J, Květ J, Rejšková A, Brom J. Wetlands as energy-dissipating systems. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010;37(12):1299–305.
Sun R, Chen A, Chen L, Lü Y. Cooling effects of wetlands in an urban region: the case of Beijing. Ecol Indic. 2012;20:57–64.
Taha H. Urban climates and heat islands: albedo, evapotranspiration and anthropogenic heat. Energy Build. 1997;25:99–103.
Trettin CC, Laiho R, Minkkinnen K, Laine J. Influence of climate change factors on carbon dynamics in northern forested peatlands. Can J Soil Sci. 2006;86:269–80.
Worrall F, Chapman P, Holden J, Evans C, Artz R, Smith P, Grayson R. Peatlands and climate change. Report to IUCN UK Peatland Programme, Edinburgh. 2010. www.iucn-uk-peatlandprogramme.org/scientificreviews.
Zheng YM, Niu ZG, Gong P, Dai YJ, Shangguan W. Preliminary estimation of the organic carbon pool in China’s wetlands. Chin Sci Bull. 2013;58(6):662–70. doi:10.1007/s11434-012-5529-9.
Zak D, Reuter H, Augustin J, Shatwell T, Barth M, Gelbrecht J, McInnes RJ. Changes of the CO2 and CH4 production potential of rewetted fens in the perspective of temporal vegetation shifts. Biogeosciences. 2014;11:14453–88.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
McInnes, R.J. (2018). Climate Regulation and Wetlands: Overview. In: Finlayson, C.M., et al. The Wetland Book. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9659-3_231
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9659-3_231
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3493-9
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9659-3
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences