Relying on stormwater management (SWM) ponds to restore the depleting wetlands is not sustainable and lacks the critical ecosystem services vital for biodiversity, a new study found.
Relying on stormwater management (SWM) ponds to restore the depleting wetlands is not sustainable and lacks the critical ecosystem services vital for biodiversity, a new study found.
With the continued losses of wetlands projected in the near future and emphasis on the underestimation of provincial wetland loss, the study captures the contributions of SWM ponds in a changing network of water bodies and the effects of land use and land cover in this change.
Waterloo researchers led by Waverley Birch examined wetland loss, SWM pond creation and land use-based trends in seven southern Ontario municipalities within the most populated ecozones in Canada from 2002 to 2010 using a geographic information system.
“Wetland loss contributes to loss of ecosystem services in Ontario, with the likelihood of natural disasters such as droughts and floods becoming more common in urban areas,” Birch said.
Read more at University of Waterloo
Photo Credit: Engel9 via Pixabay
