“If rainforests and tropical forests are the lungs of the Earth, then surely wetlands function as its kidneys.” Which one of the following functions of wetlands best reflects the above statements?
Wetland,
complex ecosystem characterized by flooding or saturation of the soil, which
creates low-oxygen environments that favour a specialized assemblage of plants,
animals, and microbes, which exhibit adaptations designed to tolerate periods
of sluggishly moving or standing water.
Functions
of Wetland ecosystem:
Ecosystem
services including water purification, groundwater replenishment, stabilization
of shorelines and storm protection, water storage and flood control, processing
of carbon (carbon fixation, decomposition and sequestration), other nutrients
and pollutants, and support of plants and animals.
Wetlands
are reservoirs of biodiversity and provide wetland products.
They
also place a role in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Constructed
wetlands are designed and built to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as
well as to divert stormwater runoff.