The Role of Buffer Zones for Agricultural Runoff

Blackwell, Martin; Hogan, David; Pinay, Gilles; Maltby, Edward

doi:10.1002/9781444315813.ch19

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…An example of this is provided by the overland flow zone at Kismeldon Meadows, southwest England (see Figs 1(c) and 2), where high concentrations of NO 3 in runoff from agricultural land are reduced in this small wetland area, but the valued Molinia caerulea grassland has converted to a less valued Glyceria fluitans dominated sward, as illustrated by the green patch evident in Fig. 1(c) (Blackwell et al 2009). Matthews et al (2009Matthews et al ( , 2010 provide another example of how small-scale wetlands can deliver ESs to a significant degree, but also with trade-offs.…”

Section: Trade-offs Between Wetland Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many cases it is not their spatial extent that is important, but the degree of hydrological interaction that affects their ability to deliver services. As described by Blackwell et al (2009), if the overall area of the wetland is small but the length of interface with agricultural land is long, processes such as denitrification are optimized (Haycock and Burt 1993). Subsequently, although small wetlands may not appear to be delivering significant ESs, we are now beginning to acknowledge their cumulative significance and importance as components of a larger system (Johnston 1994, Trochlell andBernthal 1998).…”

Section: Defining Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wetlands were classified according to their location on either a slope (SL) or floodplain (F), and further categorized depending upon soil type and hydrology, giving rise to eight types of wetland category. The properties and water-quality enhancing processes associated with these different wetland units are summarized in Table 1 (Blackwell et al 2009). Summary statistics for all these wetlands occurring in the catchment are given in Table 2.…”

Section: Defining Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Often, small wetlands are able to perform these functions more efficiently (in terms of area) than large wetlands, e.g. water quality improvement (Blackwell et al 2009). …”

Section: Principal Ecosystem Services Delivered By Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is a field-and desk-based exercise with the smallest-scale unit considered being a hydrogeomorphic unit, which involves Fig. 4 Examples of generalized hydrology and geomorphic setting of river marginal wetland buffer zones and relationships to wetland functional units (Blackwell et al 2009). breaking the landscape down into features based upon their hydrology, geomorphology and soil type, and thereby would include small wetlands. By accounting for the spatial patterns and occurrence of landscape features, the user is able to assess the wetland's hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological functions qualitatively and, in some cases, quantitatively.…”

Section: Tools For Assessment Of Wetland Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecosystem services delivered by small-scale wetlands

Blackwell

Pilgrim

2011

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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The benefits of small-scale wetlands have been largely overlooked, primarily because (a) such areas are considered problematic to manage, and (b) small wetlands fall outside the remit of most wetland inventories. The subsequent paucity of information prevents a comprehensive investigation of their properties and this must be addressed. Here we examine the evidence for the potential significance of small wetlands with regard to delivery of ecosystem services (ESs) and conclude that small wetlands often have a positive effect on their delivery, especially water quality, water regulation and biodiversity conservation. However these benefits can be offset by the emission of greenhouse gases. We suggest that, in future, wetlands should not be assessed on size alone, but rather in the context of both their location in the landscape and interaction with hydrological pathways. Furthermore, tools need to be developed to assess the type and efficiency of ESs delivered from all wetlands.Key words wetlands; ecosystem services; biodiversity; water quality; water regulation; greenhouse gases Services écosystémiques fournis par les petits milieux humidesRésumé Les avantages des petits milieux humides ont été largement négligés, surtout en raison du fait que (a) de tels domaines sont considérés comme problématiques à gérer, et que (b) les petits milieux humides se trouvent hors de la compétence de la plupart des inventaires de zones humides. De ce fait, la rareté des informations empêche une enquête approfondie de leurs propriétés, et cela doit faire l'objet d'études. Nous examinons ici la preuve de l'importance potentielle des petites zones humides à l'égard de services écosystémiques et concluons que les petits milieux humides ont souvent un effet positif sur les variables associées, la qualité de l'eau en particulier, la régularisation de l'eau et la conservation de la biodiversité. Ces avantages peuvent toutefois être occultés par l'émission de gaz à effet de serre. A l'avenir, nous suggérons que les zones humides ne soient pas évaluées sur leur seule taille, mais plutôt dans le contexte de leur emplacement dans le paysage et de leurs interactions avec les écoulements hydrologiques. De plus des outils doivent être élaborés pour évaluer le type et l'efficacité des services écosystémiques délivrés par toutes les zones humides.

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Section: Trade-offs Between Wetland Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Defining Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Defining Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Often, small wetlands are able to perform these functions more efficiently (in terms of area) than large wetlands, e.g. water quality improvement (Blackwell et al 2009). …”

Section: Principal Ecosystem Services Delivered By Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tools For Assessment Of Wetland Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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