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Status and Threats of Wetland Change in Land Use Pattern and Planning: Impact of Land Use Patterns and Urbanization

Status and Threats of Wetland Change in Land Use Pattern and Planning: Impact of Land Use Patterns and Urbanization

Dipanwita Sarkar (Paria) (Chandernagore College, India) and Nibedita Maji (Chandernagore College, India)
Copyright: © 2022 |Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-9498-8.ch007
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Abstract

Wetland-related studies documented the loss of native species diversity and promotion of the biotic homogenization due to wetland loss. Excessive withdrawals of water from wetlands for residential, agricultural, or industrial use are responsible for wetland degradation. Constructions of dams impedes water flow and replenishment of wetlands, and it also creates a hazard to aquatic living organisms. Climate change causing some wetlands to disappear under rising sea levels, while others are severely impacted by changing climatic conditions, including drought. So necessary steps such as increase wetlands and prevention of the illegal swamping of wetlands, etc. should be taken for conserving the wetland biodiversity from the threatening of unplanned urbanization, purifying the environment and mainlining the sustainable development. Though the Ramsar Convention policy exists to persevere wetlands and achieve sustainable development throughout the world, mass consciousness, greater participation of local people, use of indigenous knowledge in the management strategies are needed to protect wetlands.
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Characteristics Of Wetlands

There are three characteristics that describe a wetland:

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    Hydrology: Wetlands must contain water at or near the surface of the land for a designated amount of time.

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    Soil: Soil must be hydraulic or saturated with water to create oxygen free or anaerobic environment. It’s mainly of three types- slit, sandy and clay soils.

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      Sandy Soil: It has good drainage and aeration capacity. So it does not store water well and not suitable for most plants. It contains mineral grains ranging from 0.05 - 2 mm in diameter.

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      Slit Soil: This type of soil made from minerals. It also known as rock flour or stone dust when produced by glaciers. It contains mineral grains ranging from 0.002 - 0.05 mm in diameter.

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      Clay soil: This type of soil can hold water very well and water does not drain through it easily so it is also not suitable for most plants. It contains mineral grains ranging from 0.002 mm in diameter.

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    Plants: Plants must be wetland plants or hydrophytes type that require lots of water and the anaerobic conditions that the hydraulic soil creates. Seasonally dry wetlands or wetlands with slow-moving water can often support trees and other sturdy vegetation. More frequently flooded wetlands have mosses or grasses.

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      Submergent - Plants that grow entirely under water. Most are rooted at the bottom and some may have flowers that extend above the water surface.

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      Floating leaves - Plants rooted to the bottom with leaves that float on the water surface. Flowers are normally above water.

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      Free Floating - Plants not rooted to the bottom and float on the surface.

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      Emergent - herbaceous or woody plants that have the majority of their vegetative parts above the surface of the water.

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