Wetland functions are the biophysical processes and interactions through which wetlands influence hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological dynamics in a landscape. Key hydrological functions include water storage, flood attenuation, groundwater recharge or discharge, and modulation of surface runoff. Biogeochemical functions encompass nutrient retention and transformation (e.g., denitrification), carbon sequestration and storage, sediment trapping, and contaminant attenuation. Ecological functions involve providing habitat structure, supporting primary and secondary production, maintaining biodiversity, and sustaining food webs. These functions collectively regulate ecosystem services but are assessed scientifically in terms of process rates, fluxes, and system responses rather than societal benefits.
Across a narrow watershed in Asakura, a rural city in Fukuoka Prefecture, centuries-old stone channels still guide water through fields and into the river below. Today, those same systems are the focus of researchers at Kyushu ...
Environment
Jul 11, 2026
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10
Scientists thought dead plant material was primarily powering the Everglades. Algae says not so fast.
Ecology
Jul 8, 2026
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Carbon sequestration, climate regulation, biodiversity support and shoreline protection: These are all benefits provided by tidal wetlands. As the climate changes, the amount of carbon captured by these vital ecosystems may ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 7, 2026
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14
The Ramsar Convention is the world's longest-standing international treaty for wetland and waterbird protection. Signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl ...
A new study published in Nature Water finds that wetland loss across the United States has increased residential flood insurance claim payments by more than $10 billion since 1985, underscoring the critical role wetlands ...
Environment
Jun 2, 2026
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11
Perhaps nothing better illustrates the flamingo's status as a newcomer to the Venetian Lagoon than the fact that the local dialect has no word for them.
Ecology
May 31, 2026
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11
Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to improve carbon storage by restoring damaged peatland.
Environment
May 24, 2026
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63
Tidal wetlands are critical, yet vulnerable ecosystems. Tidal marshes, mangrove forests, and tidal flats support biodiversity, protect against flooding and storm surges, sequester carbon, and improve water quality. Due to ...
Earth Sciences
May 19, 2026
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28
Researchers have cautioned that well-intended suggested changes to carbon markets risk worsening climate impacts if core safeguards are weakened. Climate change, biodiversity loss and human rights are deeply interconnected ...
Earth Sciences
May 11, 2026
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9
Push a metal corer into a peatland and you pull up something remarkable: a dark, dense, sponge-like material made of partly decomposed plants. This peat is rich in carbon. In some places, that peat has been building up for ...
Environment
Apr 28, 2026
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9
