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ment strategies. Social science methods includ-
ing interviews, participant observation, and
recording oral histories may collectively help in
documenting such data.
Lastly, resource assessments may be used to
evaluate the potential economic value of wetland
resources from a particular site. Data may be
collected on the abundance and stock of a par-
ticular resource, its economic value and impor-
tance to local economies, extraction practices
used for harvesting, and information about
dependent local communities (Secretariat of the
Convention on Biological Diversity 2006). Such
assessments could provide essential information
for maintaining a sustainable resource base.
cameras, instruments, sampling, and observa-
tions. Emphasis usually falls on the primary
aspects of water, soil and vegetation as well as
wildlife and human interactions with wetlands.
Remote sensing and geographic information
systems play key roles for acquiring, assem-
bling, displaying, analyzing, and interpreting
diverse types of data.
The temporal dimension ranges from diurnal
cycles to wetland development over millennia.
For longer time frames, the vertical dimension
(depth) gives stratigraphic information about
changing conditions, as documented by layers of
sediments, fossils, and other factors. Subsurface
prospecting and logging include various types of
manual and powered drilling equipment as well
as shallow-subsurface geophysical techniques.
The combination of multi-spatial and multi-
temporal methods applied to wetlands yields
comprehensive and convincing results.
Ecological and socio-cultural inventorying
through biological and social science methods
are widely used in collecting wetland-related
data. Ecological, species-specii c and resource-
use surveys collected through sampling may
provide valuable information for wetland con-
servation and management. Cultural histories
and traditions could also be documented
through in-depth interviews and oral histories
with key informants.
3.7 Summary
All manner of physical, biological, and social
science methods may be applied for wetland
investigations, which range from microscopic
laboratory analysis, to economic modeling, to
space-borne satellite observations of continental
regions. Based on spatial resolution of suri cial
environments, methods for investigating wet-
lands may be divided roughly into three levels -
macro (
>
10 m), meso (10 m to 10 cm), and micro
(
10 cm), which may be accomplished by various
means of space-borne, aerial, and ground-based
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