When it comes to any kind of construction work or any development project, one needs to know about the various aspects of the land. One such key aspect that you should be looking at is the wetland. You must check where the wetland is, and whether or not it will be impacted. Hence, our first step should be to go for the wetland investigation and delineation. There are regulatory authorities who are going to help you with the same. To get the permit for impacting a wetland, one must get approval from the local authorities or other local agencies governing the same.
Some important Questions:
In this blog, we are going to focus on some of the key aspects of wetland. The answer to the following questions will help us all know better about the wetlands.
Why is wetland so important?
Wetlands are of great importance for our ecosystem and social health. Many people picture wetlands as a calm and soothing place to relax and enjoy, but they have a much more important role to play. Some wetlands are farmed, while others are mowed for hay, and many people maintain it as a lawn.
The key characteristic of wetlands are:
Hydrology
It means the degree of flooding. The soil saturation may vary based on different factors like climatic conditions, soil texture and permeability. Even the geographical location also impacts the soil saturation.
Soil
Wetlands are formed because of prolonged saturation of the long during the growing season. Based on the location, there are around 20 hydric soil indicators that are used to identify a soil as a wetland.
Vegetation/plants
The vegetation forms an integral part of the wetland. There are several hydrophytes that you can spot in wetlands. Around 1400 species of hydrophytes are found in the wetland. During the wetland investigation process, the authorities check the different types of hydrophytes and calculate which hydrophyte dominates the wetland.
Why is wetland so important?
Every component of the ecosystem plays an important role in creating an impact on the environment. Wetlands are the most biologically diverse areas and are a harbor for many aquatic species. As the impact of pollution continues to grow, it becomes important to go for wetland investigation to ensure that this part of the ecosystem is functioning well and also to understand if there are any problems areas developing in it. Wetlands are experiencing a rapid decline.
A study shows that around 64% of the wetlands disappeared in 1900. In Asian regions, the loss was on the higher side. Not only the quality but even the biodiversity of the wetland is also impacted because of this. There has been a decrease of 76% of freshwater species between 1970 and 2010. However, wetlands are experiencing a rapid decline. Newly published estimates show that 64 % of the world's wetlands have disappeared since 1900. In Asia, the loss is even higher.
As per the WWF’s Living Planet Index, biodiversity has also been affected, as populations of freshwater species have declined by 76 % between 1970 and 2010. The balance of the nature is being disrupted. The wetlands is a pool of gasses like Sulphur and methane which are extremely profitable for us commercially.
With the proper investigation, we will get to know about the factors that are impacting the biodiversity in the wetland and introduce the right method to keep it in the right form. These are some of the key features of a wetland. If you go ahead with wetland investigation, then all these aspects are to be assessed thoroughly. This is something we must contribute to. Our future depends on a healthy environment and the wetland is a huge part of this.
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