Wetland Development Research Articles

The interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic controls in determining floodplain wetland characteristics in the South African drylands

AbstractControls on the characteristics of floodplain wetlands in drylands are diverse and may include extrinsic factors such as tectonic activity, lithology and climate, and intrinsic thresholds of channel change. Correct analysis of the interplay between these controls is important for assessing possible channel–floodplain responses to changing environmental conditions. Using analysis of aerial imagery, geological maps and field data, this paper investigates floodplain wetland characteristics in the Tshwane and Pienaars catchments, northern South Africa, and combines the findings with previous research to develop a new conceptual model highlighting the influence of variations in aridity on flow, sediment transport, and channel–floodplain morphology. The Tshwane–Pienaars floodplain wetlands have formed in response to a complex interplay between climatic, lithological, and intrinsic controls. In this semi‐arid setting, net aggradation (alluvium >7 m thick) in the wetlands is promoted by marked downstream declines in discharge and stream power that are related to transmission losses and declining downstream gradients. Consideration of the Tshwane–Pienaars wetlands in their broader catchment and regional context highlights the key influence of climate, and demonstrates how floodplain wetland characteristics vary along a subhumid to semi‐arid climatic gradient. Increasing aridity tends to be associated with a reduction in the ability of rivers to maintain through‐going channels and an increase in the propensity for channel breakdown and floodout formation. Understanding the interplay between climate, hydrology and geomorphology may help to anticipate and manage pathways of floodplain wetland development under future drier, more variable climates, both in South African and other drylands. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Holocene diatom records of wetland development near Weipa, Cape York, Australia

To better understand the response of tropical wetlands to Holocene environmental changes, two lacustrine diatom records from Weipa, Cape York, have been investigated. The record from Big Willum (BW01) commenced approx. 7.9 calibrated thousand years before present (k cal a BP) and details stages of initial swamp development, a phase of ephemeral conditions between approximately 5.7 and 2.2 k cal a BP and relative wetland stability after 2.2 k cal a BP. Lithological and to a lesser extent diatom assemblage changes in BW01 appear to be linked to broad-scale changes in effective precipitation. The record from Little Willum (LW01) commenced around 0.9 k cal a BP and documents initial phases of swamp development until approximately 0.8 k cal a BP with subsequent relative wetland stability. The uppermost 10 cm of this record, approximately spanning the last 40 years, coincide with mining activity in the region. Only minor changes in the diatom assemblage are recorded for this period implying that the overall character of the swamp probably remained unchanged.Both sites offer new insights into wetland dynamics in Australia's dry tropics and demonstrate that changes in these lacustrine systems were probably driven by shifts in effective precipitation, in particular during the late Holocene.

Erosion and Restoration of Two Headwater Wetlands Following a Severe Wildfire

Wildfire can damage headwater wetlands, yet the value of post-fire restoration treatments in channels has been contested. Staff from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, students from the local Cibecue Community School, and researchers from the U.S. Forest Service collaboratively recorded channel responses over 13 years at two headwater wetlands lying within watersheds that were severely burned by the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire (Arizona, U.S.) in 2002. One site, Turkey Spring, was left largely untreated for 11 years following the fire, while the second site, Swamp Spring, was treated in 2005 by placing large rock riffle formations and vegetation transplants to prevent further incision and stimulate wetland development. The treatment was soon followed by cessation of channel incision and reestablishment of native wetland vegetation, while headcutting caused extensive erosion at the untreated site for eight years. Radio-carbon dating indicated that the eroding soils at Turkey Spring were over 8,000 years old. This study demonstrates that headwater wetlands in this region are vulnerable to extreme incision events following high severity wildfires, but that such impacts can be partially and gradually reversed. Targeted treatments of incising channels may be warranted to conserve wetlands, soils and associated values that have established over thousands of years.

A Thermodynamic Analysis of Soil Ecosystem Development in Northern Wetlands

The Maximum Power Principle (MPP) — a theoretical construct that argues that systems develop to maximize energy throughput, or power — is the subject of few empirical studies. We used the MPP to explore the thermodynamic basis for microbial processes and greenhouse gas fluxes in high latitude peat soils. Increasing temperatures cause extensive areas of permafrost degradation, which can lead to wetland formation, though permafrost degradation and aggradation can be cyclical under the right conditions. Differential ecosystem responses to permafrost degradation offer an opportunity to use the unifying approach of thermodynamics. We used adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in peat soils as a soil-relevant proxy for power to test the MPP along a chronosequence of wetlands with time following permafrost degradation. We conducted soil incubation experiments and measured production rates of CO2, methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and ATP. ATP production was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the young bog soils compared to the undisturbed permafrost bog soils; rates in the older bog soils were not different from either site. Our results suggest that power output increased following recovery from permafrost thaw. A unifying vantage point provided by thermodynamics may be useful in other investigations of wetland ecosystems with unpredictable responses to disturbance.

Geochemical investigation of the South Wellesley Island wetlands: Insight into wetland development during the Holocene in tropical northern Australia

The South Wellesley Islands in the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia, were the recent focus of a palynological investigation which found vegetation change during the Holocene was driven by coastal progradation and regional climate. Here, we present new elemental data from x-ray fluorescence core scanning which provides non-destructive, continuous and high resolution analysis from three wetlands across Bentinck Island, the largest of the South Wellesley Islands. Elemental data and grain size analyses are combined with lead-210 (210Pb) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) carbon-14 (14C) dates. An open coastal environment was present 1250 cal. a BP on the south east coast of Bentinck Island, with sediment supply incorporating fluvial deposition and detrital input of titanium and iron from eroding lateritic bedrock. Prograding shorelines, dune development and river diversion formed a series of swales parallel to the coast by ~800 cal. a BP, forming the Marralda wetlands. Wetlands developed at sites on the north and west coasts ~500 and ~450 cal. a BP, respectively. Geochemical and grain size analyses indicate that wetlands formed as accreting tidal mudflats or within inter-dune swales that intercepted groundwater draining to the coastal margins. The timing of wetland initiation indicates localised late-Holocene sea level regression, stabilisation and coastal plain development in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Elemental data provide new records of wetland development across Bentinck Island, highlighting the value of a multi-proxy approach to understanding environmental change during the Holocene in tropical northern Australia.

Castor canadensis and urban wetland governance ⿿ Fairfax County, VA case study

Nonhuman power is evident in urban ecologies, from droughts to tree diseases to everyday encounters with wildlife. Some urban environmental governance literature takes up questions of nonhuman agency, generally focusing on human-environment relations and their influence on decision-makers involved in planning, politics, and management. However, results from current research on a wetland restoration project suggest that there is more to nonhuman agency in environmental governance than its effects on human actors. This restoration project, located in a Washington D.C. Metro Area park, involved the installation of a berm and a water control system for the management of a hemi-marsh habitat. Resident beavers (Castor canadensis) emerged from the planning and proposal process as major players influencing the project design and implementation. The research traces the development of this urban wetland, drawing on assemblage theories of power to analyze how the elements of the managing apparatus (dispositif)⿿including animal ethology, technological expertise, environmental ethics, and the concept of biodiversity⿿function to govern the space. Nonhuman agency in the network compelled park managers to incorporate beaver behavior and perception into the governing apparatus. Both humans and nonhumans emerge from this dispositif as coproducers of place and as political subjects playing a part in urban ecology governance decisions. The research shows that beavers not only exert their agency on the ecological network in the wetland, but also that their perceptual worlds (umwelt) form part of the logic of governance that guides management decisions. Ultimately, this research suggests that critical social theory frameworks coupled with nonhuman ontologies will help us to better understand the lively and productive human-environment relationships that are at the core of urban ecosystems.

The impact of Holocene climate changes on Honghe wetland in NE China

Understanding the response of wetlands to climate changes could provide useful insights toward predicting the wetlands future in a warmer world. Here, we present a well-dated peat/mud profile with multiple proxies to reconstruct the historic development of Honghe wetland and discuss its response to the East Asian monsoon variations during the Holocene. The results show that the Honghe wetland developed as a shallow-water lake in the mid-early Holocene during a time of high precipitation from the East Asian monsoon. At 4600 years BP, peat layers appeared with sharp increases in the accumulation rate, grain-size Md and arboreal plants, marking a decline in water levels with the relative dry climate. Moreover, the transition corresponds well to the mid-Holocne monsoon weakening event and we suggest the decrease of the monsoon associated precipitation plays a critical role in driving the lake-peatland transition in Honghe. Facing the intensified summer monsoon in future, we suggest some practical measures should be taken to protect the present wetlands from changing back to lakes.

Evidence of multiple thermokarst lake generations from an 11 800‐year‐old permafrost core on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Permafrost degradation influences the morphology, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology of Arctic landscapes over a range of time scales. To reconstruct temporal patterns of early to late Holocene permafrost and thermokarst dynamics, site‐specific palaeo‐records are needed. Here we present a multi‐proxy study of a 350‐cm‐long permafrost core from a drained lake basin on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, revealing Lateglacial to Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in a central location of Beringia. Use of radiocarbon dating, micropalaeontology (ostracods and testaceans), sedimentology (grain‐size analyses, magnetic susceptibility, tephra analyses), geochemistry (total nitrogen and carbon, total organic carbon, δ13Corg) and stable water isotopes (δ18O, δD, d excess) of ground ice allowed the reconstruction of several distinct thermokarst lake phases. These include a pre‐lacustrine environment at the base of the core characterized by the Devil Mountain Maar tephra (22 800±280 cal. a BP, Unit A), which has vertically subsided in places due to subsequent development of a deep thermokarst lake that initiated around 11 800 cal. a BP (Unit B). At about 9000 cal. a BP this lake transitioned from a stable depositional environment to a very dynamic lake system (Unit C) characterized by fluctuating lake levels, potentially intermediate wetland development, and expansion and erosion of shore deposits. Complete drainage of this lake occurred at 1060 cal. a BP, including post‐drainage sediment freezing from the top down to 154 cm and gradual accumulation of terrestrial peat (Unit D), as well as uniform upward talik refreezing. This core‐based reconstruction of multiple thermokarst lake generations since 11 800 cal. a BP improves our understanding of the temporal scales of thermokarst lake development from initiation to drainage, demonstrates complex landscape evolution in the ice‐rich permafrost regions of Central Beringia during the Lateglacial and Holocene, and enhances our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in thermokarst‐affected regions of the Arctic.

Effects of wetland restoration on nitrate removal in an irrigated agricultural area: The role of in-stream and off-stream wetlands

Eleven in-stream and five off-stream wetlands were restored in the southern portion of the Flumen River basin, an intensively irrigated agricultural area located in NE Spain, to evaluate their efficiency for nitrate removal and to assess the factors affecting their performance. Samples were taken during different periods of the year during 2011–2014 to evaluate the influence of agricultural activities during the two years following their completion. Nitrate concentration was significantly higher in the in-stream wetlands, showing a clear dilution effect caused by the inputs of the irrigation return flows. The patterns followed by the first-order nitrate removal rate constant were different for in-stream and off-stream wetlands and during irrigation and non-irrigation seasons. During non-irrigation seasons, the nitrate outflowing concentration was found to be negatively correlated (p<0.01) to the first-order nitrate removal rate constant for in-stream wetlands, indicating that high nitrate inputs may restrict the effectiveness of the wetlands. Temperature and dissolved oxygen were also found to significantly influence the performance of off-stream wetlands during non-irrigation seasons, but only dissolved oxygen promoted the nitrate removal during the irrigation period, indicating the influence of the seasonal factor on nitrate and wetlands dynamics. The results of this study showed that although a longer time is required to achieve optimal wetland development, wetlands can be used as buffer zones that effectively remove nitrates. This study emphasizes the influence of the agricultural seasonality of the factors affecting nitrate removal in wetlands, expanding the information provided by similar studies and validating a model that is applicable to a wide range of agricultural, hydrological and seasonal conditions.

Adopting an integrated catchment-based management approach for Putrajaya Lake and Wetlands

The Federal Government of Malaysia's new administrative centre, Putrajaya, is being developed with a garden concept comprising an artificial lake and wetlands to balance the rapidly changing ecosystem and alleviate the impact of urbanisation on the former rubber and palm oil plantations. This newly transformed urban ecosystem will accommodate and enhance the city's estimated future population of 300,000 people. The urbanisation involving the development of residential, government office and commercial complexes, will inevitably have an impact on the surrounding environment. The development of Putrajaya Lake and wetlands over an area of 600 hectares will create a balanced biogenic environment and subsequently advocate the importance of urban eco-hydrological management systems within catchments. This paper reviews the adoption of a new integrated catchments management approach through the example of Putrajaya in order to realise the desired level of ecosystem service and the water quality resulting from the environment.

Adopting an integrated catchment-based management approach for Putrajaya Lake and Wetlands

The Federal Government of Malaysia's new administrative centre, Putrajaya, is being developed with a garden concept comprising an artificial lake and wetlands to balance the rapidly changing ecosystem and alleviate the impact of urbanisation on the former rubber and palm oil plantations. This newly transformed urban ecosystem will accommodate and enhance the city's estimated future population of 300,000 people. The urbanisation involving the development of residential, government office and commercial complexes, will inevitably have an impact on the surrounding environment. The development of Putrajaya Lake and wetlands over an area of 600 hectares will create a balanced biogenic environment and subsequently advocate the importance of urban eco-hydrological management systems within catchments. This paper reviews the adoption of a new integrated catchments management approach through the example of Putrajaya in order to realise the desired level of ecosystem service and the water quality resulting from the environment.

Socio-ecological aspects of sustaining Ramsar wetlands in three biodiverse developing countries

Integrating conservation and ecologically sustainable development of wetlands is a major challenge, especially in developing countries. While many developing countries harbour significant biodiversity and socio-cultural resources, they have substantial development pressures. We explore the similarities in issues around wetland conservation and sustainability in three developing countries using case studies of internationally significant wetlands in Tanzania, Colombia and Papua New Guinea. We examine key aspects of their socio-ecological values, stakeholder and governance issues, conservation and management issues, and management responses. Key challenges across these regions include inadequate knowledge and data, population and development impacts, poor regulatory and planning processes, socio-economic inequities and conflict. All three areas lack adequate inventory, survey and monitoring, and there are significant risks to some wetland values. Mechanisms such as the Ramsar Convention provide a framework to assist in addressing global wetland loss, but implementation at these sites needs to be supported by effective, integrative approaches involving natural resource regulation, conservation and the development needs of local communities. Increased commitment and resourcing, along with comprehensive stakeholder engagement, are needed to develop and implement locally tailored plans to effectively manage these sites and their values, while also addressing the range of stakeholder needs and perspectives.

American Energy, Imperiled Coast: Oil and Gas Development in Louisiana's Wetlands

American Energy, Imperiled Coast: Oil and Gas Development in Louisiana's Wetlands

Later Holocene vegetation history of the Isles of Scilly, UK: coastal influence and human land use in a small island context

ABSTRACTSmall islands tend to experience exacerbated environmental/social vulnerabilities, due to isolation, size and a small resource base. The response of social communities to environmental stress can be addressed by compiling palaeoecological proxies for land management alongside archaeological records. This paper presents pollen data from four new late Holocene sequences that lie around sea‐level on the Isles of Scilly (south‐west England), to understand the impact of coastal change on island communities. Interpretation of sequences near the coastal zone can be confounded by problems in disentangling human impact from maritime and wetland influence. Multivariate analysis is used to separate samples influenced by maritime conditions and wetland development from ‘inland’ human land management practices. During the Bronze Age clearance of woodland resulted in an intensively managed pastoral system and archaeological datasets indicate that maritime resources formed an important part of the subsistence economy. Despite coastal change that resulted in loss of land area and reduced the extent of the intertidal zone, the pollen data and evidence from existing archaeological data show continuity through later prehistory and into the medieval period. The archaeological data and pollen evidence point towards a highly resilient community that employed a mixed and varied subsistence base.

PENINGKATAN PRODUKTIVITAS PADI LAHAN RAWA LEBAK MELALUI PENGGUNAAN VARIETAS UNGGUL PADI RAWA

In 2014 the total area of rice fields in North Sumatra was 464 827 ha, which has a land area of irrigated rice 291 062 ha, while the non-irrigated rice land area of 173 765 ha. Non irrigated wetland is classified into three agro-climatic types include 1). Rainfed areas, 2). Tidal wetland and 3). Lowland swamp wetland or non-tidal swamp. The potential development of swamp wetlands for paddy is still open because of the productivity is still low. Causes of low productivity such as soil fertility are relatively low, it still uses the old local varieties in 5-6 months, varieties that have been hereditary, and land management is still relatively conventional. Through the Integrated Crop Resource Management approach (PTT), swamp wetlands have the potential to be developed and are expected to become a contributor to rice production significantly. The aim of this research is to provide the technology package for lowland swamp rice cultivation in North Labuhan Batu Regency, North Sumatra Province. The research was conducted in the village of Sidua-Two, Sub District of South Kualuh, North Labuhan Batu district, from April to September 2014. Research using randomized block design (RBD) with 7 treatment swamp rice varieties that Inpara1, Inpara2, Inpara3, Inpara4, Inpara5, Margasari and varieties that farmers commonly planted the Mekong. Treatments were replicated three times, cooperator farmers used as replication with a plot area of 20m x 25m with a total area of 1ha. The results showed that the varieties Inpara1, Inpara2, and Inpara 3 provide the highest productivity compared to other varieties. Additionally varieties Mekongga still gave good productivity in lowland swamp. The main obstacle a lowland swamp land development is waterlogging, and unpredictable drought, depending on the circumstances of hydro topography, rainfall, and water level of local rivers. Results of soil analysis showed the content of micro-nutrients such as Al, Fe, Mn, Band Sare also included a higher category. The high content of elements Al and Fe cause soil reactions that are highly acidic soil and the soil pH is very low. Recommendations on a package of rice cultivation in shallow lowland swamp land need to be implemented in order to increase the productivity of lowland swampland.

Patterned fen formation and development from the Great Sandy Region, south-east Queensland, Australia

The Great Sandy Region (incorporating Fraser Island and the Cooloola sand-mass), south-east Queensland, contains a significant area of Ramsar-listed coastal wetlands, including the globally important patterned fen complexes. These mires form an elaborate network of pools surrounded by vegetated peat ridges and are the only known subtropical, Southern Hemisphere examples, with wetlands of this type typically located in high northern latitudes. Sedimentological, palynological and charcoal analysis from the Wathumba and Moon Point complexes on Fraser Island indicate two periods of swamp formation (that may contain patterned fens), one commencing at 12 000 years ago (Moon Point) and the other ~4300 years ago (Wathumba). Wetland formation and development is thought to be related to a combination of biological and hydrological processes with the dominant peat-forming rush, Empodisma minus, being an important component of both patterned and non-patterned mires within the region. In contrast to Northern Hemisphere paludifying systems, the patterning appears to initiate at the start of wetland development or as part of an infilling process. The wetlands dominated by E. minus are highly resilient to disturbance, particularly burning and sea level alterations, and appear to form important refuge areas for amphibians, fish and birds (both non-migratory and migratory) over thousands of years.

Development of a Bi-National Great Lakes Coastal Wetland and Land Use Map Using Three-Season PALSAR and Landsat Imagery

Methods using extensive field data and three-season Landsat TM and PALSAR imagery were developed to map wetland type and identify potential wetland stressors (i.e., adjacent land use) for the United States and Canadian Laurentian coastal Great Lakes. The mapped area included the coastline to 10 km inland to capture the region hydrologically connected to the Great Lakes. Maps were developed in cooperation with the overarching Great Lakes Consortium plan to provide a comprehensive regional baseline map suitable for coastal wetland assessment and management by agencies at the local, tribal, state, and federal levels. The goal was to provide not only land use and land cover (LULC) baseline data at moderate spatial resolution (20–30 m), but a repeatable methodology to monitor change into the future. The prime focus was on mapping wetland ecosystem types, such as emergent wetland and forested wetland, as well as to delineate wetland monocultures (Typha, Phragmites, Schoenoplectus) and differentiate peatlands (fens and bogs) from other wetland types. The overall accuracy for the coastal Great Lakes map of all five lake basins was 94%, with a range of 86% to 96% by individual lake basin (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior).

Impact of continental motion and dynamic glaciations on low-latitude climate during the Carboniferous: The record of the Wyoming Shelf (Western United States)

The dynamic character of the Late Paleozoic Ice Age is evident from glacial deposits, but its impact on tropical climate is not well constrained. Global changes in climate are overprinted on longer-term paleogeographic variations, resulting in a complex time–space distribution of climate-sensitive lithologies. The significance of such lithologies in Carboniferous successions of the western United States has not been fully explored. In this study, we provide new interpretations for the paleoclimatic context of the Amsden and Tensleep Formations (Pennsylvanian, Northern Wyoming, USA). The Amsden Formation consists of a basal sandstone member overlain by red siltstones containing pisolites. Very large-scale (~ 10 m) cross-bedding within the basal sandstone indicates deposition in an erg environment. Iron pisoid-rich layers in the overlying member suggest an evolution toward more humid conditions. Persistent arid conditions during the middle Pennsylvanian are suggested by eolian sandstones and calcretes in the overlying Tensleep Formation. These formations were deposited on the karst topography that developed on top of the lower to middle Mississippian Madison Group. Although the development of karstic features implies that humid conditions prevailed during the late Mississippian, evaporites and evidence for early dolomitization within the formation suggest that it was deposited under arid conditions. These relationships argue for a long-term climate evolution from arid to humid during the Mississippian, and a return to arid conditions during the Pennsylvanian. This trend can be explained by the northward drift from ~ 15°S to ~ 12°N. A comparison with contemporaneous records reveals a diachronous evolution across western Pangaea, with the climatic conditions documented on the Wyoming Shelf being reached later in eastern North America. These relationships indicate that plate motion considerably overprints long-term climatic records. Departures from this trend, suggested by the presence of erg deposits in the basal Amsden Formation, record the overprinting of shorter periods of climate change. • Paleoclimatic context in which Carboniferous formations of Wyoming were deposited is investigated. • Long-term climate change is linked to Pangaea's motion through climate belts. • Tropical, humid conditions in the western United States predates the development of extensive forested wetlands in eastern North America and Europe. • Persistent arid conditions prevailed during the middle to late Pennsylvanian.

Modeling of Soil Water and Salt Dynamics and Its Effects on Root Water Uptake in Heihe Arid Wetland, Gansu, China

In the Heihe River basin, China, increased salinity and water shortages present serious threats to the sustainability of arid wetlands. It is critical to understand the interactions between soil water and salts (from saline shallow groundwater and the river) and their effects on plant growth under the influence of shallow groundwater and irrigation. In this study, the Hydrus-1D model was used in an arid wetland of the Middle Heihe River to investigate the effects of the dynamics of soil water, soil salinization, and depth to water table (DWT) as well as groundwater salinity on Chinese tamarisk root water uptake. The modeled soil water and electrical conductivity of soil solution (ECsw) are in good agreement with the observations, as indicated by RMSE values (0.031 and 0.046 cm3·cm−3 for soil water content, 0.037 and 0.035 dS·m−1 for ECsw, during the model calibration and validation periods, respectively). The calibrated model was used in scenario analyses considering different DWTs, salinity levels and the introduction of preseason irrigation. The results showed that (I) Chinese tamarisk root distribution was greatly affected by soil water and salt distribution in the soil profile, with about 73.8% of the roots being distributed in the 20–60 cm layer; (II) root water uptake accounted for 91.0% of the potential maximal value when water stress was considered, and for 41.6% when both water and salt stress were considered; (III) root water uptake was very sensitive to fluctuations of the water table, and was greatly reduced when the DWT was either dropped or raised 60% of the 2012 reference depth; (IV) arid wetland vegetation exhibited a high level of groundwater dependence even though shallow groundwater resulted in increased soil salinization and (V) preseason irrigation could effectively increase root water uptake by leaching salts from the root zone. We concluded that a suitable water table and groundwater salinity coupled with proper irrigation are key factors to sustainable development of arid wetlands.

Definitions and Mapping of East African Wetlands: A Review

Wetlands provide invaluable ecosystem services and contribute significantly to food security around the world. To maintain these functions, wetlands need to be protected from rapid transformation and overuse. Spatially-explicit information is required for sustainable wetland management. Development of wetland maps based on remote sensing requires a clear-cut definition of wetlands. This review was undertaken to improve the understanding of these habitats from a remote sensing perspective and to determine available wetland map layers for the East African countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. This study includes three components: (1) a review of the availability and types of wetland definitions from the scientific literature record (including 245 separate references); (2) a systematic analysis of land use/land cover classifications and the conceptual approaches and spatial coverages of wetland classes for each system; and (3) a depiction of wetland layers and a discussion of their suitability for use in regional inventories. Our literature review shows that a standard definition of wetlands is not in use, and a specific definition of wetlands is not given in more than 40% of the reviewed remote sensing publications. Spatial information on East African wetlands is currently insufficient for use in regional wetland management.