The EPA defines wetlands as “areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.”
For a lovely introduction to wetlands this 2 minute video Why Wetlands are Nature’s Super-Systems is worth a look. We often overlook the value of our wetlands. They are a valuable element in our fight against climate change. Elimination of wetlands turns once lush areas into deserts. Wetlands act as giant sponges retaining moisture and allowing all of us to benefit.
Benefits of Wetlands
- Provide Wildlife Habitat and encourages biodiversity
- Prevent Flooding by giving water places to slow down and spread out
- Purifies Water Naturally
- Prevent Erosion of banks and shorelines
- Provide Natural Air Conditioning as air moves over the surface of the water it cools
In 2022 the Pew trust reported “The research calculated how much carbon dioxide the [San Francisco] Bay’s tidal wetlands captured from the atmosphere and stored—a process known as “blue carbon”—between 1990 and 2020. Over those three decades, the bay wetlands represented a “net carbon sink,” meaning they sequestered more carbon than they released.”
How do Wetlands Function and Why are they Valuable? EPA
Wetland Program Development Grants and EPA Wetlands Grant Coordinators
Wetlands Restoration Boosted Greenhouse Gas Captured by San Francisco Bay Estuary
