Wet Landscape Research Articles

Arthropod diversity in constructed wetlands is affected strongly by shoreline properties but only weakly by grazing

AbstractAimAquatic‐terrestrial transition zones contain features essential for many species that often benefit wetland biodiversity. Shallow flood‐zone areas and reed beds are indicative of natural wetland habitats; however, how such features affect the native arthropod biodiversity in constructed wetlands is scarcely investigated. We asked how these shoreline features, as well as wetland shoreline properties and grazing management, influence riparian arthropod diversities and habitat specializations.LocationConstructed wetlands, Sweden.TaxaAraneae, Coleoptera, Diptera.MethodsTaxonomic‐, phylogenetic‐ and trait diversities, along with habitat specialist species richness, were measured in riparian spiders, beetles and selected Diptera in 68 constructed wetlands in two regions of Sweden. We ran structural equation models to estimate direct and indirect effects from shoreline slope, flooded grassland, reed areas and grazing management on group diversities, and used multivariate models to determine drivers on habitat specialist species richness.ResultsFlooded grassland and reed area, along with shoreline slope influenced arthropod diversities, and responses differed between arthropod groups and diversity metrics. Spider trait diversity was greater in wetlands with larger flooded grassland areas, whilst beetle trait diversity was reduced. Spider phylogenetic diversity was greater in wetlands containing larger reed areas and in wetlands with steeper shorelines. However, species richness in predatory flies was greater in wetlands with more gentle shorelines. Grazing management had limited effects on arthropod diversities; however, species richness in wetland specialist and generalist predatory dipterans was greater in the absence of grazers in wetlands with greater flooded grassland areas.Main ConclusionsAs requirements vary considerably among arthropods, care must be taken when constructing and managing wetlands to benefit arthropod biodiversity. The present results suggest wetlands with a varied shoreline, albeit with greater proportions of flood areas, or multiple adjacent wetlands with varying shores in a wet landscape and a mild grazing regiment, would accommodate a more diverse arthropod fauna.

Episodic deterioration of plant diversity in rich fens with or without in situ oil sands exploration disturbance

Peatlands with ground surfaces near the water table may be sensitive to disturbances that reduce this distance to water. Shrubby rich fens (SRF) in northern Alberta, Canada, are restricted to the wettest landscape positions and are characterized by brown mosses and stunted trees on weakly consolidated and saturated substrates. In situ oil sands exploration (OSE) practices have established thousands of drilling pads to explore for deeply buried bitumen deposits, with many located on peatlands. In the development of OSE pads on peatlands, the vegetation layer is removed, eliminating the functionally important hummock‐hollow surface topography. We examined the spontaneous regeneration of bryophytes and vascular plants and surface microtopography on SRF, 7 and again 14 years after pad abandonment. In both sampling years, drilling pad surfaces were closer to the water table (mean pad elevation 2012 = 3.3 cm, 2019 = 5.6 cm) and had minor topography compared to adjacent reference habitat. We found, however, over the 7 years, that for both drilling pads and reference habitat, bryophyte and vascular plant richness decreased, and most species declined in frequency. Furthermore, for pads and reference habitat, density of tree seedlings decreased, and expansion of hummock‐forming mosses was limited. Findings suggest that drilling pads and their natural counterparts on SRF may be prone to episodic reductions in plant diversity and ecosystem retrogression, likely resulting from prolonged surface saturation during summers with high rainfall. Because of their wet landscape positions and environmental vulnerability, SRF are likely the peatland habitats slowest to recover following OSE pad construction.

Ethnobotany of Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart. (Arecaceae) in the Afar depressions, Ethiopia

Background: Hyphaene thebaica is a Palm tree or shrub often with dichotomous branching that is predominantly found in an open wet landscape, riverbeds/flood plains, and around river valleys. This study was conducted to document the ethnobotany of Hyphaene thebaica in the Afar depressions, Ethiopia. Methods: A purposeful sampling method was used to select the informants. A total of 80 informants - 20 informants from each district and 15 of them in each district were women. Out of the selected informants 12 of them i.e., three from each district were considered key informants based on the recommendations from the administrators of different hierarchies who are believed to have sufficient knowledge about the plant and communities. The remainder (68 informants) were general informants. Direct matrix ranking was used to rank the preferred use of H. thebaica. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using OriginPro 2022. Results: Results revealed that H. thebaica has numerous importance as implied by the informants in the Afar communities. These include material culture and Sennan Ari (100%), Doma (45%), and medicinal value (32%). The use preference ranking of the species revealed that material culture and making Sennan Ari were ranked first with 100% of the key informants confirming the information. Conclusions: The present study investigated the indigenous knowledge of the desert Palm, Hyphaene thebaica, and found the plant is multipurpose and is utilized for material culture production, temporary shelter/house (Sennan Ari) making, extraction of an alcohol/liquor, medicinal value, and income-generation. Advancing the material culture production by integrating current knowledge and phytochemical investigation on the alcohol extract and determining its efficacy is recommended. Keywords: Desert palm, Herbal medicine, Hyphaene, Indigenous knowledge, Material culture, Pastoralism

A coastal population of Honey Badger Mellivora capensis at Chilika Lagoon in the Indian east coast

We report the presence of the Honey Badger Mellivora capensis from Chilika lagoon, state of Odisha, on the Indian East coast for the first time. Despite being catholic in its habitat choice, it is mainly associated with more arid landscapes comprising savanna, shrubland and desert. Chilika is a coastal lagoon drained by river Mahanadi, and, is situated in the Northern Deccan Plateau ecoregion, which is characterized by dry deciduous forests situated in the rain shadow of the Eastern Ghats mountain range. Chilika is mainly a wet landscape with many portions experiencing seasonal inundation. The lagoon probably gives refuge to an extension of the Eastern Ghats Honey Badger population.

Built up areas in a wet landscape are stepping stones for soaring flight in a seabird

The energy exchange between the Earth's surface and atmosphere results in a highly dynamic habitat through which birds move. Thermal uplift is an atmospheric feature which many birds are able to exploit in order to save energy in flight, but which is governed by complex surface-atmosphere interactions. In mosaic landscapes consisting of multiple land uses, the spatial distribution of thermal uplift is expected to be heterogenous and birds may use the landscape selectively to maximise flight over areas where thermal soaring opportunities are best. Flight generalists such as the lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus, are expected to be less reliant on thermal uplift than obligate soaring birds. Nevertheless, gulls may select flight behaviours and routes in response to or in anticipation of thermal uplift in order to reduce their transport costs, even in landscapes where thermal uplift isn't prevalent. We explore thermal soaring over land in lesser black-backed gulls by using high-resolution GPS tracking to characterise individual instances of thermal soaring and detailed energy exchange modelling to map the thermal landscape which gulls experience. We determine that lesser black-backed gulls are regularly able to undertake thermal soaring, even in a wet temperate landscape below sea level. By examining the relationship between lesser black-backed gull flight, thermal uplift and land use, we determine that built up areas, particularly towns and cities, provide thermal uplift hotspots which lesser black-backed gulls preferentially make use of, resulting in more opportunities for energy saving flight through thermal soaring.

Hydrologic Controls on Peat Permafrost and Carbon Processes: New Insights From Past and Future Modeling

Soil carbon (C) in permafrost peatlands is vulnerable to decomposition with thaw under a warming climate. The amount and form of C loss likely depends on the site hydrology following permafrost thaw, but antecedent conditions during peat accumulation are also likely important. We test the role of differing hydrologic conditions on rates of peat accumulation, permafrost formation, and response to warming at an Arctic tundra fen using a process-based model of peatland dynamics in wet and dry landscape settings that persist from peat initiation in the mid-Holocene through future simulations to 2100 CE and 2300 CE. Climate conditions for both the wet and dry landscape settings are driven by the same downscaled TraCE-21ka transient paleoclimate simulations and CCSM4 RCP8.5 climate drivers. The landscape setting controlled the rates of peat accumulation, permafrost formation and the response to climatic warming and permafrost thaw. The dry landscape scenario had high rates of initial peat accumulation (11.7 ± 3.4 mm decade−1) and rapid permafrost aggradation but similar total C stocks as the wet landscape scenario. The wet landscape scenario was more resilient to 21st century warming temperatures than the dry landscape scenario and showed 60% smaller C losses and 70% more new net peat C additions by 2100 CE. Differences in the modeled responses indicate the largest effect is related to the landscape setting and basin hydrology due to permafrost controls on decomposition, suggesting an important sensitivity to changing runoff patterns. These subtle hydrological effects will be difficult to capture at circumpolar scales but are important for the carbon balance of permafrost peatlands under future climate warming.

The influence of hydroclimate and management on forest regrowth across the western U.S

Forests are subject to a range of management practices but it is unclear which produce the most rapid rates of regrowth across heterogeneous moisture gradients produced by regional climate and complex terrain. We analyzed recovery rates of satellite derived net primary productivity (NPP) over 27 years for 26 069 individual silvicultural treatments (stands) across the western U.S. at a 30 m resolution. Rates of NPP recovery and forest regrowth were on average 116% higher in wet landscapes with lower annual climatic water deficits (8.59 ± 5.07 gC m−2 yr−2, median ± inter-quartile range) when compared to dry landscapes (3.97 ± 2.67 gC m−2 yr−2). This extensive spatial analysis indicates that hydroclimate is a dominant driver of forest regrowth and that responses can be highly nonlinear depending upon local climate conditions. Differences in silvicultural treatment also strongly controlled rates of regrowth within hydroclimatic settings; microclimates produced by shelterwood treatments maximized regrowth in dry landscapes whereas regrowth following clearcutting was among the fastest in wet landscapes due to enhanced energy availability. Conversely, commercial thinning regrowth rates were insensitive to hydroclimate and relatively consistent across the western U.S. Planting had a differential effect on forest structure and rates of regrowth across hydroclimate with negative effects in wet environments and positive effects in dry environments. In aggregate, this study provides a novel remote sensing approach for characterizing forest regrowth dynamics across climatic gradients and the common treatment options employed.

Lowland islands at the water-land nexus in Lixiahe, China: A boundary approach

Historically known as China’s ‘Netherlands’, the lowlands of Lixiahe were and still are characterized by vast waterscapes. This paper introduces an island society fostered by this wet landscape, which thrived in premodern times and has undergone a transition into modernity. From a long-term perspective, there have been constant interactions between this island society and the water-land environments. This study details such socio-natural interactions and reconsiders the role of natural settings in the evolution of this island society in the modern context of intensifying human interventions. A comparative study is conducted in two periods of premodern and modern times, and a parallel examination is conducted into three levels of this island society to explore island relations. A boundary approach based on landscape ecology theories is employed to interpret the complex socio-natural interactions in both temporal and spatial dimensions. Through this historical exploration, the paper concludes with three links between resilience thinking and architecture/planning practice in wet landscapes and discusses contemporary issues connected with the socio-ecological resilience of these lowland islands.

Methane Content and Emission in the Permafrost Landscapes of Western Yamal, Russian Arctic

We present the results of studies of the methane content in soils of the active layer and underlying permafrost, as well as data on the emission of methane into the atmosphere in the dominant landscapes of typical tundra of the western coast of the Yamal Peninsula. A detailed landscape map of the study area was compiled, the dominant types of landscapes were determined, and vegetation cover was described. We determined that a high methane content is characteristic of the wet landscapes: peat bogs within the floodplains, water tracks, and lake basins. Average values of the methane content in the active layer for such landscapes varied from 2.4 to 3.5 mL (CH4)/kg, with a maximum of 9.0 mL (CH4)/kg. The distribution of methane in studied sections is characterized by an increase in its concentration with depth. This confirms the diffuse mechanism of methane transport in the active layer and emission of methane into the atmosphere. The transition zone of the upper permafrost contains 2.5–5-times more methane than the active layer and may become a significant source of methane during the anticipated permafrost degradation. Significant fluxes of methane into the atmosphere of 2.6 mg (CH4) * m−2 * h−1 are characteristic of the flooded landscapes of peat bogs, water tracks, and lake basins, which occupy approximately 45% of the typical tundra area.

Regional rainfall and local topography jointly drive tree community assembly in lowland tropical forests of New Caledonia

AbstractAimTo understand how variations in precipitation and topographic wetness influence tree community assembly at both regional and landscape scales in tropical forests.LocationNew Caledonia (SW Pacific).MethodsWe sampled 40 tree communities in 0.04‐ha plots laid along topographic gradients within two landscapes with contrasting precipitation. Within a dry (<1,400 mm/year) and a wet (>2,500 mm/year) landscape we used the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) to sample communities in topographic position with low (e.g., ridges) and high (e.g., valleys) water accumulation. For each sampled species, we measured five functional traits involved in drought resistance and resource acquisition (wood density, leaf area, leaf specific area, leaf dry matter content, and leaf thickness). We first examined trait covariation across species. We then analysed how the functional composition of communities varied between landscapes (according to precipitation) and within landscapes (according to TWI), using trait‐based statistics and null models.ResultsWe identified two ecological trade‐offs driving trait variation across species: (i) one opposing high hydraulic efficiency to drought resistance, related to a wood economic spectrum; and (ii) the other opposing resource acquisition to resource conservation, related to a leaf economic spectrum. Across landscapes, species with drought resistance strategies were favoured at lower precipitation. Within landscapes, drought resistant species were selected under low TWI in the dry landscape, while low TWI increased the abundance of species with conservative strategies in the wet landscape.ConclusionsPrecipitation and topography jointly shape the functional composition of tree communities. At low precipitation, hydric constraints prevailed on ridges and upslopes by filtering drought resistant strategies along the wood economic spectrum. Contrastingly, higher precipitation relaxed the hydric constraints and resource availability became a primary driver of changing strategies along the leaf economic spectrum. Thus, the landscape scale influence of topography on processes driving community assembly and functional composition critically depends on the regional climatic context.

Foxes, voles, and waders: drivers of predator activity in wet grassland landscapes

Impacts of generalist predators on declining prey populations are a major conservation issue, but management of this situation is constrained by limited knowledge of the factors influencing predator distribution and activity. In many declining populations of ground-nesting waders, high levels of nest and chick predation are preventing population recovery. Red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, are the main predator but their primary prey is small mammals. On wet grasslands managed for breeding waders, small mammals are concentrated in tall vegetation outside of fields, and nests closer to these patches are less likely to be predated. To assess whether these patterns result from fox attraction to small mammals, and thus the potential for management of tall vegetation to influence nest predation rates, we quantify seasonal and spatial variation in fox and small mammal activity in relation to tall vegetation patches. Across wet grassland sites, tall vegetation patches of any size (> 0.05 ha) supported small mammals and small mammal activity increased throughout the wader breeding season, while the use of fox track plots within fields declined seasonally. Although within field fox track plot use did not vary with distance to tall vegetation, over the 1064 nights of trail camera recording, foxes were seen in areas with tall vegetation on 13 nights compared with short vegetation on only two nights. These findings suggest that lower predation rates of lapwing nests close to tall vegetation could reflect fox attraction to areas with small mammal activity, but any such effects would primarily operate later in the breeding season, and may therefore primarily influence late nests and chicks.

Monstrous Landscape in Beowulf

A considerable proportion of Grendel scholarship to date is concerned either with the creature's Cainite identity or with the quest for narrative analogues to the section of Beowulf that concerns him. The subject matter of the former branch builds on the highly deliberative tradition of written exegesis, while sources of the latter kind are mostly narratives of a folk-traditional character which could be argued to have absorbed social concerns in a more organic fashion. This paper analyzes the tensions between Cainite identity and folktale features through a study of the environmental associations of Grendel and his mother. It is demonstrated that their association with wet landscapes, which is explicitly given a theological background, may equally well be explained with reference to socio-economic considerations implicit in folk tradition. At the same time, the geographical mapping of the poem's antagonists constitutes one of few differences between its humans and monsters. This suggests that the poem's geographical distancing functions alongside its religious distancing as a psychological demarcation of human identity.

New evidence for the links between the local water cycle and the underground wet sand layer of a mega-dune in the Badain Jaran Desert, China

Scientists and the local government have great concerns about the climate change and water resources in the Badain Jaran Desert of western China. A field study for the local water cycle of a lake-desert system was conducted near the Noertu Lake in the Badain Jaran Desert from 21 June to 26 August 2008. An underground wet sand layer was observed at a depth of 20–50 cm through analysis of datasets collected during the field experiment. Measurements unveiled that the near surface air humidity increased in the nighttime. The sensible and latent heat fluxes were equivalent at a site about 50 m away from the Noertu Lake during the daytime, with mean values of 134.4 and 105.9 W/m2 respectively. The sensible heat flux was dominant at a site about 500 m away from the Noertu Lake, with a mean of 187.7 W/m2, and a mean latent heat flux of only 26.7 W/m2. There were no apparent differences for the land surface energy budget at the two sites during the night time. The latent heat flux was always negative with a mean value of −12.7 W/m2, and the sensible heat flux was either positive or negative with a mean value of 5.10 W/m2. A portion of the local precipitation was evaporated into the air and the top-layer of sand dried quickly after every rainfall event, while another portion seeped deep and was trapped by the underground wet sand layer, and supplied water for surface psammophyte growth. With an increase of air humidity and the occurrence of negative latent heat flux or water vapor condensation around the Noertu Lake during the nighttime, we postulated that the vapor was transported and condensed at the lakeward sand surface, and provided supplemental underground sand pore water. There were links between the local water cycle, underground wet sand layer, psammophyte growth and landscape evolution of the mega-dunes surrounding the lakes in the Badain Jaran Desert of western China.

Transforming Identities – New Approaches to Bronze Age Deposition in Ireland

This paper explores the interpretation of the deposition of artefacts in Ireland from c. 2500 to c. 800bc, combining a contextual analysis with post-processual ideas about materiality, artefacts, and their biographies. Hoards, single and burial finds are shown to be complementary strands of the depositional record and the result of deliberate deposition. It is argued that both the symbolic value of these items as well as economic and practical rationales determine the depositional mode. The paper attempts to infer social practices and rules that determined the differential treatment of materials and object types. The main structuring factor in the depositional record is the type-specific meanings of individual artefacts, which embody social identities beyond the utilitarian function of the object. The act of deposition facilitates and legitimates the literal and symbolic transformation of artefacts and the concepts they embody. The need for a separation between ritual and profane interpretation is removed, as deposition is understood as the reflection of prehistoric concepts rather than labelled according to modern notions of functionality. It is also argued that both dry and wet places are meaningful contexts and that different forms of wet landscapes were conceptualised differently

Quasi Experiments, Hedonic Models, and Estimating Trade-offs for Local Amenities

Abstract This paper evaluates whether the property value capitalization effects measured with quasi-experimental methods offer reliable estimates of willingness to pay for changes in amenities. We propose the use of a market simulation as a robustness check. Two applications establish the method’s relevance. The first examines the conversion of land cover from desert to wet landscape. The second examines cleanup of hazardous waste sites. We find that even when quasi-experimental methods have access to ideal instruments, their performance in measuring general equilibrium willingness to pay cannot be assumed ideal. It needs to be evaluated considering the specific features of each application. (JEL Q51)

Flood memories – media, narratives and remembrance of wet landscapes in England

Abstract Floods are a threat to livelihoods and landscapes in many places around the world and at many points in history. Yet, they also seem to be an intrinsic component of many landscapes and livelihoods. This article explores the interconnection of multi-directional narratives of flooding through the representation of the memories of inhabitants of wet landscapes in past and present England. The article will illustrate three aspects of the relationship between floods and memory: first, the contextual mediation of flood memories in the contemporary moment. Here audio-visual and textual media (photographs, newspapers articles, television news broadcasts) of present and past flooding compete for our attention; second, the documentation of the early modern English treatment of a changing ‘wateryscape’ and whether we can discern dis/continua with and in contemporary media; and third, the dis/connecting narratives of living with floods in the present day. We emphasize that remembering and forgetting floods is an active and creative process for both flooding communities and those who research them. Stories and experiences of past floods are strategically used within, between and across communities to construct a particular sense of self and a statement on vulnerability and resilience to floods. Thereby the article contributes to developing a creative engagement between past and present, which goes beyond encompassing hegemonic narratives of historical and environmental change by reinforcing the potential of researching everyday, experiential landscapes beyond arbitrary periodization.

Potential N processing by southern Everglades freshwater marshes: Are Everglades marshes passive conduits for nitrogen?

The degree of hydrological connectivity in wetlands plays a vital role in determining the flux of energy, material, and nutrients across these wet landscapes. During the last century, compartmentalization of hydrologic flows in the Florida Everglades by canals and levees has had a profound impact on the natural timing and supply of freshwater and nutrients across the southern Everglades. Nitrogen (N) is an understudied nutrient in the phosphorus-limited Everglades; it plays an important role in many Everglades processes. To gain a better understanding of the overall N-dynamics in southern Everglades’ marshes and the role that canals play in the distribution of N across this landscape, we analyzed δ 15N natural abundance data for the primary ecosystem components (the macrophyte Cladium jamaicense, marl soils, peat soils, and periphyton). Three sample transects were established in the three main basins of the southern Everglades: Shark River Slough, Taylor Slough, and the C-111 basin. Each transect included sample sites near canal inflows, in interior marshes, and at the estuarine ecotone. Natural abundance δ 15N signatures provided insights into processes that may be enriching the 15N content of ecosystem components across the marsh landscape. We also conducted a combined analysis of δ 15N data, tissue N concentrations, and water column N data to provide a broad overview of N cycling in the freshwater marshes of the southern Everglades. The primary trend that emerged from each basin was a significant 15N enrichment of all ecosystem components at near-canal sites, relative to more downstream sample sites. These data suggest that the phosphorus-limited marshes of the southern Everglades are not inactive conduits for N. Rather, these marshes appear to be actively cycling and processing N as it flows from the canal–marsh interface through downstream freshwater marshes. This finding has important implications to downstream coastal estuaries, including Florida Bay, and to nearshore coastal ocean ecosystems, such as coral reefs, where N is the limiting nutrient.

Compromised metamorphosis and thyroid hormone changes in wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) raised on reclaimed wetlands on the Athabasca oil sands

The wet landscape approach to oil sands tailings reclamation in the Athabasca Oil Sands region involves creating wetlands from fluid tailings in mined-out pits. We measured time to metamorphosis, thyroid hormone status, and detoxification enzyme (EROD) induction in Wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) tadpoles raised on reclaimed oil sands wetlands of different ages [young (≤7 yr) vs. old (>7 yr)] and compared data with tadpoles raised on reference (control) wetlands. Metamorphosis was delayed or never occurred in tadpoles raised in young tailings; those exposed to older tailings developed similarly to those in reference wetlands. Thyroid hormone disruption likely played an important role in the metamorphosis delay as the T3:T4 ratio was lowest in tadpoles raised in young, tailings-affected wetlands. Our findings suggest tailings wetlands become less toxic with age, and that these amphibians will be able to complete their life cycle in tailing wetlands that have sufficiently detoxified with age.

The effects of oil sands wetlands on wood frogs (Rana sylvatica)

Extraction of crude oil from oil sand produces solid (sand) and liquid (water with suspended fine particles) tailings materials, called oil sands process-affected materials (OSPM). These waste materials are stored on the mine site due to a “zero discharge” policy and must be reclaimed when operations end. The liquid tailings materials are known to contain naphthenic acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and have high pH and salinity. One method of reclamation is the “wet landscape” approach, which involves using oil sands tailings materials to form wetlands that would mimic natural wetland ecological function. This study investigated the effects of wetlands formed with oil sands tailings materials on the survival and growth of wood frog (Rana sylvatica) larvae. In spring 2007, in-situ caging studies were completed in 14 wetlands that were of four different classes; young or old, reference or reclaimed. Tadpole survival was different between types of wetlands, with young tailings-affected wetlands (≤7 years old) having 41.5%, 62.6%, and 54.7% higher tadpole mortality than old tailings-affected (>7 years old), young reference, and old reference wetlands, respectively. Since old wetlands created from OSPM showed effects on tadpoles similar to those of reference wetlands, which had markedly lower toxicity than young tailings-affected wetlands, we provide evidence that wetlands, at least 7 years old, can sustain amphibian life.

Prairie Wetland Complexes as Landscape Functional Units in a Changing Climate

The wetland complex is the functional ecological unit of the prairie pothole region (PPR) of central North America. Diverse complexes of wetlands contribute high spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity, productivity, and biodiversity to these glaciated prairie landscapes. Climatewarming simulations using the new model WETLANDSCAPE (WLS) project major reductions in water volume, shortening of hydroperiods, and less-dynamic vegetation for prairie wetland complexes. The WLS model portrays the future PPR as a much less resilient ecosystem: The western PPR will be too dry and the eastern PPR will have too few functional wetlands and nesting habitat to support historic levels of waterfowl and other wetland-dependent species. Maintaining ecosystem goods and services at current levels in a warmer climate will be a major challenge for the conservation community.