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• Learn more about climate change from Natural Resources Canada.

In This Section

1. Wetlands and climate change (introduction)
2. Impact on wetlands
3. Carbon sequestration in wetlands
4. DUC research
5. Glossary

 

Wetlands and climate change

Ducks Unlimited Canada is investigating the potential of wetlands for storing carbon and greenhouse gases.

Over the last two decades global warming was easily dismissed as the natural fluctuation in an ever changing global climate. Today, we understand that although there are natural fluctuations in climate, human induced changes are predominantly driving the current global warming trend.

“Global Warming” refers to an increase in the global-average annual mean surface-air temperature (global temperature) which results from the enhanced greenhouse effect. According to Natural Resources Canada, the global temperature could rise 1 to 3.5’C in the next century. In Canada, this would be equivalent to increasing the annual mean temperature in some regions by 5 to 10’C (1).

Our atmosphere contains greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) naturally. These gases act like the glass of a greenhouse to insulate the earth and trap solar radiationin a beneficial way, keeping the global temperature 33°C warmer than if the energy was radiated back to space.

The enhanced greenhouse effect results when human activities increase the concentration of naturally occurring greenhouse gases (GHGs). In the last 15 years we have experienced 10 of the warmest years in global meteorological history (1). In the last 50 years, yearly average temperatures on the prairies have warmed by 0.2°C in the summer and 3.0°C in the winter. Under these conditions the prairies may face an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts (1).

Main reference for this section:

Euliss, Ned H. Jr., Gleason, R.A., Olness, A., McDougal, R.L., Murkin, H.R., Robarts, R.D., Bourbonniere, R.A., and Warner, B.G. 2006.

North American prairie wetlands are important nonforested land-based carbon storage sites. Science of the Total Environment 361: 179-188

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