Wetland Functions and Values: Wetland Functions and Values Brian C. Reeder, Ph.D. Professor of Biology Morehead State University Institute for Regional Analysis and Public Policy


What are functions and values?: What are functions and values? Function-assigned duty or activity; something closely related to another thing and dependent upon it for its existence, value, or significance Value-suitable equivalent of something else; utility or merit; worthwhile Source: American Heritage Dictionary


Wetland have functions and values at a number of levels: Wetland have functions and values at a number of levels Global biogeochemical cycles (hardest to quantify, most important for life) Soils and productivity Food and shelter for animals Plant establishment and nourishment Human values Flood control Fish and Wildlife


Management and policy decisions of wetland functions and values tend to be made anthropocentrically : Management and policy decisions of wetland functions and values tend to be made anthropocentrically These values may be the result of ecosystem functions and processes The value may be very different for diverse stakeholders Regional (global tends to be ignored in the U.S., but not in Europe) Specific function based (e.g. birdwatching, hunting, flood control, endangered species, art, history)


Value is viewpoint dependent: Value is viewpoint dependent Swamps and marshes were generally considered: Farmlands yet undrained Places that caused disease Dangerous and foreboding Hindrances to navigation Convenient locations for development valueless


These perceptions changed in recent history: These perceptions changed in recent history Water volume control source for drought times; storage for floods storm abatement (Gulf Coast) Most the world’s food rice extraordinary primary productivity nutrients and water nursery no wetlands; no seafood


Global Ecosystem Processes: Source, Sink, Transformer: Global Ecosystem Processes: Source, Sink, Transformer Carbon Storage hydric soils nutrient rich slow decomposition plants and animals export to adjacent ecosystems fossil fuels (Carboniferous Era swamps heavy metal retention Nitrogen cycling nitrate reduction (air) Storage Phosphorus cycling Sulfur cycling


Wetlands have been called the “kidneys of the landscape” because they can retain and transform nutrients and “waste”: Wetlands have been called the “kidneys of the landscape” because they can retain and transform nutrients and “waste” Agricultural runoff Removal of sulfates by reducing them to sulfides and binding Human waste Eutrophication


Aesthetic Values: Aesthetic Values Art is an expression of nature. Duck stamps landscapes Beauty of plants and animals (nonconsuptive) Birdwatching Canoe trips Pioneering instinct Solitude and wild


Historical Values: Historical Values Floodplains bury and preserve artifacts Slow decomposition, and tannins, keep artifacts fresh Deposition of pollen and fossils allow ecologists to use them as time machines


Educational Values: Educational Values High productivity and high diversity Easy to construct in outdoor classrooms Used at all grade and age levels First microscope lab Playing in the mud


Human Subsistence Use: Human Subsistence Use Marsh Arabs of Iraq Native American Rice Production Cultivated rice Native Alaskans and Canadians of the tundra and muskeg


Values due to Ecosystem Function: Values due to Ecosystem Function Flood Control Water Storage Storm Abatement Water quality improvement


Flood Control: Flood Control Plant transpiration reduces base flow Floodplains retain water Stems do not necessarily cause water to back up In Chesapeake Bay drainage, a 4% loss of wetland area doubled flood flow


Water Storage: Water Storage Bottomland forest in the Mississippi basin before European settlement retained about 60 days of river discharge. Today, what is left retains less than 12 days of discharge. USACOE determined that the Charles River (MA) floodplains were so effective that it was cheaper to purchase wetlands than to build control structures. The 3,400 ha of wetlands were worth $17 million per year in flood damage reduction Can keep up base flow during droughts, and recharge shallow aquifers


Storm Abatement: Storm Abatement New Orleans Barrier islands are designed to take the storms energy Loss of wetlands and water storage Public Cost? $$$$$$$$ Buildings on floodplains may become artificial reefs for fish


Water Quality Improvement: Water Quality Improvement Kentucky’s #1 pollutant-sediment, is settled Chealation of heavy metals Transformation of nutrients Permanent burial High diversity of decomposers and decomposition processes


Population and Community Values: Population and Community Values Vegetation Timber Fur Fish Shellfish Birds Threatened and Endangered Species


Herbaceous Vegetation: Herbaceous Vegetation Ryther and others argued that a 1,000 ha water hyacinth farm could produce 10,000,000,000,000 BTU of methane per year and at the same time remove all the nitrogen from the wastewater of 700,000 people Peat production Peat for Energy Fiber and building material


Timber: Timber Cypress knees make neat lamps About 13 million ha of bottomland swamp in the US have been estimated to have about $8 billion in timber resources The Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia is being salvage harvested of rare Atlantic white cedar.


Fur and Skin: Fur and Skin Harvest over 10 million muskrat pelts per year in the US Nutria escaped from captivity in Louisiana and are harvested for fur and to reduce their damage Beaver Minks Alligators where abundant


Fish and Shellfish: Fish and Shellfish Over 95% of the fish and shellfish harvested in the US are wetland dependent over $2 billion per year industry Direct relationship between fish yield and adjacent wetland area Dependent for part of life cycle, or entire life cycle


Fishing: Fishing Anglers spent $38.4 billion in 1996 to pursue their sport. $15.4 billion for fishing trips $19.2 billion for equipment $3.8 billion for licenses, stamps tags, land leasing and ownership, membership dues and contributions, and magazines. Total economic output generated by freshwater fishing in 1996 exceeded $76.9 billion, including the impact on retailers, suppliers of goods and services to retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers, plus the indirect and induced impacts resulting from these activities. Freshwater fishing is the No. 1 participation sport in Kentucky, Louisiana and South Carolina. 48.8 million Americans 7 and older fish.


Birds: Birds Waterfowl Hunting DU and Duck Stamps Waterfowl hunters spend more than most other hunters US Fish and Wildlife estimated that in 2001, waterfowl hunters spent $495 million on trip expenditures and $440 million on equipment. Kentucky has over 25,000 waterfowl hunters


Birds: Birds Birdwatching According to USFW, in 2001 about 22% of Americans fed, watched, or photographed birds Kentucky ranks 8th in the nation--35% of Kentuckians consider themselves birders 69% of birders travel to streamsides, and 47% to other wetlands It is estimated that U.S. birders spent $32 billion dollars and contributed $85 billion in economic benefits, including the creation of 863,406 jobs.


Threatened and Endangered Species: Threatened and Endangered Species There are some links between biodiversity and ecosystem function Wetlands are one of the most important ecosystems to most threatened and endangered species during some point in their life cycle, including: 68% of birds 63% of reptiles 75% of amphibians 66% of mussels


Wetland provide Vital Functions and Values to Humans, but…: Wetland provide Vital Functions and Values to Humans, but… Can you quantify it? sort of Do all wetland provide all values? No, or certainly not equally Can we restore or create systems that provide those functions and values? Yes and No, sort of, it depends


Who Gets What Value: Who Gets What Value For example, off-site v. on-site mitigation here in Louisville. flood control v. waterfowl production Fish at Krogers v. hatchery v. riparian wetland


Estimating Values and Functions: Estimating Values and Functions We like to see dollars and or jobs Approaches vary orders of magnitude Replacement cost Willingness to pay Scaling and weighing Etc. Calculating Mitigation


If all wetlands are not equal, can’t we value them differently?: If all wetlands are not equal, can’t we value them differently? Spatial and temporal issues Value is stakeholder dependent Intangibles are hard to quantify Wetland construction and creation success is hard to quantify Sustainability and landscape position