{"id":1691,"date":"2024-05-08T13:28:44","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T10:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ldf.lv\/?post_type=habitat&p=1691"},"modified":"2024-11-06T11:09:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T08:09:58","slug":"habitat-of-the-year-2024-wetlands","status":"publish","type":"habitat","link":"https:\/\/ldf.lv\/en\/habitats\/habitat-of-the-year-2024-wetlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Habitat of the Year 2024 \u2013 WETLANDS\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Latvian Fund for Nature has nominated\u00a0WETLANDS\u00a0as the\u00a02024\u00a0Habitat of the Year.\u00a0A\u00a0wetland is an area that is waterlogged or covered with a shallow layer of water.\u00a0Wetlands include floodplains, grass marshes, raised bogs, coastal grasslands and naturally flooded, waterlogged forests and other habitats where land and water meet, including\u00a0man-made\u00a0wetlands.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n“To understand the nature of a wetland, it is important to remember that life originated in water, and that a wetland is where land and water meet and intermingle. That is why a wetland is full of life. It has the conditions for both terrestrial and aquatic species to thrive and live, as well as species that need places that are flooded. North American mudflats, tropical mangroves, lagoons – these are all world-famous wetlands. But just as important and special are Latvia’s wetlands – we need to\u00a0recognize\u00a0their true value and\u00a0realize\u00a0that we need them more than we think,” says J\u0101nis\u00a0\u0136uze, Council Member of the Latvian Fund for Nature.\u00a0<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In 1971, an international convention on wetlands was adopted in Ramsar, Iran – the only international environmental convention dedicated to a specific ecosystem. Despite the importance of wetlands having been so strongly\u00a0emphasized\u00a0at\u00a0a\u00a0global level more than 50 years ago, they continue to disappear. In the last 50 years, more than 35% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared, and their area is declining at a rate three times faster than that of forests. In Latvia\u00a0too, wetland areas are declining historically and currently. Floodplain meadows, one of the most important wetland habitats, remain less than 0.3% of Latvia’s territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Wetlands are home to many different forms of life<\/strong> – aquatic and terrestrial plants, mosses, invertebrates, fish, reptiles,\u00a0birds\u00a0and mammals.\u00a0A significant proportion\u00a0of all bird species found in Latvia are associated with wetlands – as breeding, feeding or\u00a0migration\u00a0resting sites. For example, the\u00a0Eurasian bittern\u00a0and the\u00a0Common\u00a0crane nest in wetlands, the\u00a0Black stork and the\u00a0White-tailed\u00a0eagle\u00a0forage, and geese rest when passing through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wetland plants<\/strong>\u00a0that\u00a0almost\u00a0everyone\u00a0recognizes\u00a0are reeds, sedges,\u00a0cottongrass,\u00a0arum lily\u00a0and\u00a0cranberries,\u00a0or\u00a0specific\u00a0species such as, for example,\u00a0fen orchid\u00a0and\u00a0marsh angelica,\u00a0or vibrantly\u00a0coloured\u00a0globeflower, Siberian\u00a0iris, shingled\u00a0gladiolus, strawberry\u00a0clover\u00a0and bird’s-eye primrose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But these habitats are not\u00a0just important\u00a0for natural diversity – they provide essential ecosystem services <\/strong>that are vital to our existence. Three of the most important are flood regulation, water purification and carbon storage. Wetlands act like sponges, storing\u00a0floodwaters\u00a0and then slowly releasing them, protecting other areas and us from\u00a0inundation. They are also natural filters that clean water of pollution. Wetlands effectively sequester and store carbon, thereby reducing the greenhouse effect and thus being one of the mechanisms for mitigating climate change. For example, raised bogs with their peat are one of nature’s most effective carbon sinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, the journal Nature published a study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre\u00a0analyzing\u00a0the costs and benefits of different flood risk reduction measures in EU countries and the UK. The researchers concluded that\u00a0maintaining\u00a0and creating “water retention” areas, including floodplains and other wetlands, are among the most cost-effective flood risk reduction measures in terms of benefits versus costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are six wetlands of international importance in Latvia – Pape Wetlands, Engure Lake, \u0136emeri National Park, Zieme\u013cu bog, Lub\u0101ns wetland, Tei\u010di and Pele\u010d\u0101re bogs – but small wetland areas are also important \u2013 beaver ponds, wet meadow corners, wet unmanaged depressions in intensively farmed fields. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wetlands, such as wet grasslands, are a major challenge for agriculture because they are difficult to manage and are either drained or left unmanaged. One of the aims of the Latvian Fund for Nature is to show that wetlands can also be used economically, as demonstrated by a number of the Fund’s projects that extensively manage floodplain meadows in cooperation with farmers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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