The Environmental Impact of Wetland Destruction and...

The Environmental Impact of Wetland Destruction and Deforestation Thesis: The forests and wetlands of the world are being destroyed at unacceptable rates. This destruction is causing many adverse effects on the environment, many of which will not be felt by the global population until they are irreversible. Introduction Human life cannot exist in the absence of complicated interactions of millions of species in biological systems. Yet as humans, we live during a period of the greatest loss of plant and animal species since the mega-extinctions of the Jurassic Period 65 million years ago. Harvard University biologist E.O. Wilson estimates that 50,000 plant and animal species disappear each year due to tropical deforestation,†¦show more content†¦The plants present in the wetlands convert sunlight into plant material and produce oxygen as a byproduct. This production is an integral part of the interdependent system of a food web. The benefits from wetlands are many and generally recognized to include: (1) ecosystem function (2) fish and shellfish habitat (3) waterfowl and other bird habitat (4) furbearer and other wildlife habitat (5) pollution filtration (6) sediment removal (7) heavy metal removal (8) oxygen production (9) nutrient production and recycling (10) chemical pollution absorption (11) aquatic production (12) microclimate regulation (13) world climate (ozone layer) regulation (14) flood control (15) wave damage protection (16) erosion control (17) groundwater and recharge supply (18) energy source (19) livestock grazing (20) fishing (21) fertilizer industry (22) Hunting and Trapping (23) recreation (24) preservation of genetic inventory (25) aesthetics and (26) scientific research (Hinrichsen, 1999). From this list of areas that wetlands effect it is no wonder that global wetlands play a vital role in the earth ecosystem. Destruction of Wetlands When the Europeans first arrived in the United States, there were approximately 215 million acres of wetlands in what are now the forty-eight coterminous states and that number has continued to fall every day since. By the mid- 1970s, only 46Show MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Global Warming On The Environment977 Words   |  4 Pagesrelease large amounts of CO2, and methane a greenhouse gas is produced naturally from wetlands and decay of fossils. Scientific explanations concerning natural causes of global warming argue that solar flares are increasing leading to a rise of heat. Over centuries, the orbit of the earth has changed and is moving to or from the sun fluctuating earth and ocean surface temperatures. Methane is produced naturally in wetlands and arctic tundra causing global warming. 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