Wetland and Biodiversity Hotspot Conservation

Wetland and Biodiversity Hotspot Conservation

Vikrant Balkrishna Berde, P. Veera Bramha Chari, Chanda Vikrant Berde
Copyright: © 2020 |Pages: 10
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-1226-5.ch009
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Abstract

Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas where water exists (e.g., swamps, marshes, blogs, etc.). These wetlands make up 6% of the Earth's surface. Freshwater wetlands are utilised for cultivation of paddy, for basic water needs, for fishing, as a source of food by habitat loss, one main reason being anthropogenic activities. Wetland ecosystems are a home to birds and aquatic fauna. They are the breeding and nursing grounds for these species. They are the most productive ecosystem on Earth. Apart from this, wetlands are important as they reduce the impact of floods, control pollution, and also regulate climate. On our planet, there are regions that have large number of endemic species. Most of these are heavily threatened biodiversity hotspots. Thirty-five such regions have been identified in the world. Conservation strategies need to be framed and implemented in a very effective way and with no further wastage of time before the wetlands and hotspots disappear completely.
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Types Of Wetlands

Depending upon the dominant vegetation in the water body, the source of water and peat presence, Wetlands are divided into four groups, as below:

  • 1.

    Marshes are characterized by emergent aquatic macrophytes.

  • 2.

    Acidic bogs having few higher plants and an abundance of the peat- moss Sphagnum, and low species diversity.

  • 3.

    Swamps are dominated by trees.

  • 4.

    Alkaline ferns that contain mosses and aquatic macrophytes.

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Distribution Of Wetlands

Except Antarctica, wetlands are existing in all continents and every country of the world. Mostly tropical countries with humid climatic conditions support wetland development then arid or temperate countries of the world. They have covered almost 4.5 billion hectares which comes to around 9% of earth's surface. They mostly exist in between 20°N and 30°S, which represents, highly populated geographical locations and areas under tropical rain forests. A report by Global Wetland Outlook by Ramsar estimated 12.1 million km2 an area covered by coastal and inland water wetlands. However, the area under wetland cover is declining due to human activities. It was observed till 2015 that almost 35% wetlands have lost from the earth.

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