BACKGROUND: Water quality improvement is potentially an important function of wetlands. Mechanisms that occur in wetlands, such as sedimentation, filtration, adsorption, precipitation, decomposition, and uptake and metabolism, can act to reduce concentrations of problematic water quality constituents flowing into wetlands. Similarly, streams, ponds, and lakes can act as natural treatment system...

The focus of the project was on the management of wetlands located on private property. Wetlands are increasingly recognised as being of value to society yet the history of their use in Australia has been one of widespread degradation due to grazing, cropping, clearing and draining for commercial gain. What remains of Australia’s wetlands are predominantly located on private land. The danger th...

As part of a larger study of mercury (Hg) biogeochemistry and bioaccumulation in agricultural (rice growing) and non-agricultural wetlands in California's Central Valley, USA, seasonal and spatial controls on methylmercury (MeHg) production were examined in surface sediment. Three types of shallowly-flooded agricultural wetlands (white rice, wild rice, and fallow fields) and two types of manage...

This study contributes to the improvement of low-cost biotechnology for wastewater treatment in constructed wetlands (CWs). Constructed wetlands are energy efficient engineered systems that mimic the treatment processes of natural wetlands, removing polluting organic matter, nutrients, and pathogens from water. The aim of this study was to investigate the advisability of the inoculation of hori...

Effects of inlet design and vegetation type on tracer dynamics and hydraulic performance were investigated using lithium chloride in eighteen experimental free water surface wetlands. The wetlands received similar water flow but had different vegetation types: 6 emergent vegetation wetlands (EVWs), 6 submerged vegetation wetlands (SVWs) and 6 free development wetlands (FDWs). Two types of inlet...

Water extraction from floodplain river systems may alter patterns of inundation of adjacent wetlands and lead to loss of aquatic biodiversity. Water reaching the Okavango Delta (Delta), Botswana, may decrease due to excessive water extraction and climate change. However, due to poor understanding of the link between inundation of wetlands and biological responses, it is difficult to assess the ...

Wetlands are globally important ecosystems that provide critical services for natural communities and human society. Montane wetland ecosystems are expected to be among the most sensitive to changing climate, as their persistence depends on factors directly influenced by climate (e.g. precipitation, snowpack, evaporation). Despite their importance and climate sensitivity, wetlands tend to be un...

Boreal wetlands play an important role in global carbon balance. However, their ecosystem function is threatened by direct anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. Oil sands surface mining in the boreal regions of Western Canada denudes tracts of land of organic materials, leaves large areas in need of reclamation, and generates considerable quantities of extraction process-affected materi...

Multipurpose constructed treatment wetlands are being used increasingly in the southwestern U.S. to reclaim water, provide habitat for wetlands wildlife, educate the public on issues related to water and wildlife conservation, and fulfill other goals. Whereas, man-made wetlands have proven effective for water treatment, one serious drawback is the potential of some wetlands to produce large num...

During the last two decades the multiple functions and values of wetlands have been recognized not only by the scientists and managers working with wetlands, but also by the public. The ability of wetlands to transform and store organic matter has been exploited in constructed wetlands. This paper summarizes the state-of-the-art of the uses of constructed wetlands in water pollution control by ...