Building Resiliency to Climate Change Through Wetland Management and Restoration

Never before has the resiliency of wetland ecosystems to climatic and anthropogenic stressors been more important or more recognized by those who study these unique ecosystems. The goal of this chapter is to discuss a variety of management and restoration approaches to building resiliency in wetlands that are subjected to changing conditions. We examine wetland responses to changing climatic and hydrologic conditions at multiple spatial (global to microscopic level) and temporal (100-million-year to 1-year) scales which informs our perspective on predicting future wetland responses to both anthropogenic and natural perturbations. Additionally, we introduce the utility of having advanced tools for monitoring changes at the biogeochemical scale, which is likely to be one of the first indicators of change to be detected. The case studies that we present enable us to learn techniques and approaches to address current and future stressors (natural and anthropogenic) on both coastal and inland wetland ecosystems and contain the common thread of carbon sequestration and biogeochemical cycling. We focus on the functional roles of wetlands in providing ecosystem services and how those ecosystem services are best protected, managed, and restored in light of a variety of stressors, such as global climate change, increased water use and demand, and land use changes. Wise-use approaches that enhance wetland biodiversity and resiliency to these changes and impacts are discussed, as are wetland-specific ecosystem services that provide enhanced water quality, water supply, flood protection, storm damage protection, pollution attenuation, and climate change resiliency for adjacent human communities.