For more than two decades, william mitsch and james gosselink s wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for ecologists, land use planners, and water resource managers worldwidea comprehensive compendium of the state of knowledge in. Gosselink is professor emeritus at the center for coast and environment at. Hydrological and ecological assessment of the impacts of. Although the value of wetlands for fish and wildlife protection has been known for a century, some of the other benefits have been identified more recently. Aug 24, 2007 mitsch and gosselink have written an excellent textreference book on wetland ecology and management. Wetlands alteration is not unique to the united states.
Ideally, the design of a created or restored wetland should be modeled after the natural wetland that was damaged or destroyed in order to replicate the wetland type and ecosystem processes of the natural site. Landscape and climate change threats to wetlands of north. A body of water or waterbody often spelled water body is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface. For example, as the earth warms, the vast peatland wetlands in north america and eurasia may dry and oxidize to carbon dioxide and methane, exacerbating the climateshift problem mitsch and gosselink 2007. The total coverage of existing wetlands is estimated to range from at least 7 million km2 to about 10 million km2, or 58 percent of the land surface of the world, depending upon the definition for what is included mitsch and gosselink, 2007. Wetland ecology and management university of pittsburgh.
Wetlands treat wastewaters from many different origins including agricultural production. Now mitsch and gosselink bring their classic book up to date with substantial new information and a streamlined text supplemented with a support web site. William mitsch, born march 29, 1947 in wheeling, west virginia usa, is an ecosystem ecologist and ecological engineer who was colaureate of the 2004 stockholm water prize in august 2004 as a result of a career in wetland ecology and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecological modelling. He was awarded the society of wetland scientists lifetime achievement award in 1998. In spite of the classification system, coastal wetlands, as a whole serv e as sources. Gosselinks 2015 textbook categorized wetland values. Many of the discussions in this chapter are gleaned from work published by mitsch and gosselink 2000, 2007. For more than two decades, william mitsch and james gosselinks wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for ecologists, land use planners, and water resource managers worldwidea comprehensive compendium of the state of knowledge in wetland science, management, and restoration. Identification and enhancement of the ecosystem services from created and restored wetlands olentangy river wetlands to the florida everglades to the planet william j. In light of the observed importance of wetlands, a number of laws and policies have been passed in the past half century to halt the widespread destruction of wetlands in the united states. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rarely, puddles. Aug 24, 2007 for more than two decades, william mitsch and james gosselinks wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for ecologists, land use planners, and water resource managers worldwidea comprehensive compendium of the state of knowledge in wetland science, management, and restoration.
Schiermeier olentangy river wetland research park, the ohio state university. Ecology in times of scarcity bioscience oxford academic. Improving the success of wetland creation and restoration with know. Ms ppt 2007 viewer retired these links will open a new window. The most recent revision solidifies its role as an essential source and aligns the methods under which wetland science and management are practiced today. For more than two decades, mitsch and gosselink s wetlands has been the premier reference on wetland science and management. Yet, paradoxically, its functions can easily be overwhelmed in areas of heavy human development, thus lessening those values. With sven jorgensen of denmark, mitsch was the 2004 winner of the stockholm water prize. Now mitsch and gosselink bring their classic book up to date with substantial new.
Hydrology, physiochemistry, and amphibians in natural and. May 16, 2001 click on the book chapter title to read more. Pdf coastal wetlands and their role in human health. I use it as a reference that i pull from the shelf again and again. It is estimated that 2030 % of the earths soil pool of 2,500 pg of carbon lal 2008 is stored in wetlands roulet 2000. In that book mitsch and gosselink, 1993, mitsch and gosselink, 2000 we went on to suggest a few general principles that should be remembered when attempting to estimate the value of wetlands. Gosselink is professor emeritus at the center for coast and environment at louisiana state university. Gosselink seems to be the standard textbook in wetland science, bringing together all aspects of wetlands studies and applications in one text.
Today, natural wetlands are considered waters of the united states, and federal regulations discourage their use for wastewater. A body of water does not have to be still or contained. Use the link below to share a fulltext version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Hydrology, physiochemistry, and amphibians in natural and created vernal pool wetlands chelsea a. These functions provide vital services that benefit society, including food, peat, building material, amenity, flood mitigation, aquifer. Abstract wetlands have value because their functions have proved to be useful to humans. Larson, university of massachusetts journal of environmental quality first on my list of references to recommend to.
Gosselink, phd, is professor emeritus of the center for coastal, energy, and environmental resources at louisiana state university in. Landscape and climate change threats to wetlands of north and. Gosselink is professor emeritus at the center for coast and. Centuries of abuse to the nations natural resources had led to. The book is perfect as a text for a wetlands ecology course in upper level or graduate courses. Mitsch and gosselink have written an excellent textreference book on wetland ecology and management. Identification and enhancement of the ecosystem services from created and restored wetlands olentangy river wetlands to the florida everglades to the planet. They are keenly tuned to their climate, their watersheds and landscape geomorphology, and, in some cases, their coastline processes. In the midtolate 1960s the issue of environmental degradation finally came to the attention of the american public. Refocused coverage on the three main parts of the book.
Schiermeier olentangy river wetland research park, the ohio state university he was the winner in 2004, with sven jorgensen of denmark, of the stockholm water prize and, in 2007, the society of wetland scientists lifetime achievement award. Structural and functional vegetation development in. The single most important book on wetlands, newly expanded and updated wetlands is the definitive guide to this fragile ecosystem, providing the most comprehensive coverage and indepth. In the united states, the use of natural wetlands to improve water quality was pioneered by researchers in florida and michigan, states that contain large acreages of natural wetlands mitsch and gosselink 2007. Wetlands are among the most important yet vulnerable ecosystems on the planet mitsch and gosselink 2007. Wetlands 9780471699675 by mitsch, william j gosselink, james g. Oneofthemost remarkablefeaturesofpiledwellingsites is that they often contain a significant amount of organic accumulations, which in general are underlain and covered by deposits of limnic sediments. A main research issue is to explain the formation of those organic accumu. Praise for wetlands, second edition this book is the wetlands bible.
Wetlands provide many ecosystem services, including biodiversity support, flood and storm mitigation, and water quality improvement, particularly through nutrient reduction, which has led some to suggest that wetlands provide more services to human society than does almost any other ecosystem costanza et al. The high organic carbon concentrations and anaerobic conditions found in most wetlands support methanogenic microorganisms mitsch and gosselink, 2007. Mitsch is professor and eminent scholar at florida gulf coast university and the director of its everglades wetland research park, as well as juliet c. Optional important readings will be provided mitsch et al. For more than two decades, mitsch and gosselinks wetlands has been the premier reference on wetland science and management. This cited by count includes citations to the following articles in scholar.
Ecosystem services of wetlands wetlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on the planet. Mitsch is distinguished professor of environment and natural resources and director, wilma h. Humans all over the world have filled them for agriculture, industry, and housing and dredged them for marinas, ports, and harbors mitsch and gosselink 2007. This new fourth edition maintains the authoritative quality of its predecessors while offering such revisions as.
Identification and enhancement of the ecosystem services. Sproul chair for southwest florida habitat restoration and management. Aug 07, 2000 praise for wetlands, second edition this book is the wetlands bible. For more than two decades, william mitsch and james gosselink s wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for ecologists, land use planners, and water resource managers worldwidea comprehensive compendium of the state of knowledge in wetland science, management, and restoration. An accurate estimate of methane emissions from wetlands is important because methane has a global warming potential approximately 25times greater than co 2 after 100 years ipcc, 2007. Investigating problematic hydric soils derived from red. Schiermeier olentangy river wetland research park distinguished professor, school of environment and natural resources the ohio state university. Today, natural wetlands and manmade constructed wetlands are used globally to treat contaminated water, where contaminants refer to any constituent in the water that can cause human or environmental harm. Blanca bernal assisted with the editing and style formatting of this manuscript. Mitsch, phd, is a professor in the school of natural resources and environmental science graduate program at the ohio state university in columbus. Carl folke, royal swedish academy of sciences land use policy the single best combination text and reference book on wetland ecology. Wetlands produce about 25% of the worlds naturally produced methane whalen, 2005, mitsch and gosselink, 2007. The balance of carbon uptake and emissions will determine if a wetland is acting as a sink or a source of carbon whiting and chanton, 2001.
School of geography and environmental sciences, university of birmingham, uk. We have restricted the flow of water and the sediment it carries and piped the water elsewhere. Although the value of wetlands for fish and wildlife protection has been known for a century, some. Identification and enhancement of the ecosystem services from. The unit value for some wetlands also increases with human development agriculture and urban because of increased use andor increased scarcity.