Impact on wetlands

Some facts about wetlands in Canada:

Approximately 14 per cent of Canada is covered by wetlands.
Ontario, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories contain the largest area (see map) of wetlands
Agricultural expansion is the major cause of 85 per cent of Canada's wetland losses:

since European settlement, wetland conversion to agriculture is estimated at over 20 million hectares
65 per cent of the coastal marshes of Atlantic Canada
70 per cent in southern Ontario
71 per cent in the Prairie Provinces
80 per cent of the Fraser River Delta in British Columbia

How does climate change impacts wetlands:

Small wetlands will dry up and disappear resulting in a loss of carbon sinks
Permanent wetlands will become seasonal and subject to greater variation in water levels. Dramatic fluctuations in water levels will enhance the release of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) from these systems
Biodiversity within affected wetlands will decrease

The combination of wetlands disappearing and water levels fluctuating greatly in those wetlands that remain will lead to a feedback cycle that will perpetuate the loss of wetlands by reducing carbon sinks, increasing greenhouse gas fluxes to the atmosphere, and further enhancing the greenhouse effect.

<< Page 1: Wetlands and climage change (introduction)
Page 3: Carbon sequestration in wetlands >>