Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
the largest drainage basins in Australia, covering
over more than one million square kilometers
across the southeast. A diverse ecosystem of
numerous wetlands and marsh habitats includ-
ing over 16 Ramsar sites, it also meets the needs
of approximately 85 percent of Australia's irri-
gated agriculture and the water demands of
close to three million people (Australian Gov-
ernment 2010b). Recent climate patterns have
exacerbated water shortages within the basin.
Recognizing the necessity for long-term inte-
grated water management, the Australian gov-
ernment implemented the 2007 Water Act to
promote more sustainable water-use practices
for the basin. In addition, the National Water
Initiative emphasizes the need for efi cient and
balanced water use to meet ecosystem and
human needs (Australia Report 2008).
In contrast, New Zealand's wetland manage-
ment challenges result from the loss of this
ecosystem through river channelization, drain-
ing, and conversion to other land uses. Studies
in the 1990s suggested that only eight percent
of New Zealand's original wetlands remained
(New Zealand Department of Conservation
1990). The government has initiated measures
to mitigate some of these losses through con-
servation and restoration efforts under the
Resource Management Act of 1991 (New Zealand
Report 2008).
Finally, some of the most remote regions of
the world have wetland ecosystems. Tundra
wetlands in coastal eastern Antarctica are frozen
for most of the year except for a brief summer
period during which soils melt and microbial
activity intensii es. Nitrous oxide (N
2
O) l uxes
have been recorded for these wetland sites built
on guano and decaying animal and plant matter
(Zhu et al. 2008). With warming climate trends,
scientists are calling for the close monitoring of
such tundra wetlands as possible sources of
methane, nitrous oxide, and other greenhouse
gases. For now, limited human interaction with
the Antarctic continent and its designation as a
space for science to benei t all humankind has
accorded it protection. Its protection is also
formalized through a complex of agreements
falling under the Antarctic Treaty System (Scien-
tii c Committee on Antarctic Research 2010).
A
B
Figure 14-16.
Wetlands in European Russia. A.
Paludii ed spruce forest in the boreal zone of Karelia
(east of Finland). B. Eutrophic birch-
Sphagnum
vegetation of a karst mire, Tula region south of
Moscow. Photos courtesy of E. Volkova.
protection is included within broader environ-
ment and water-quality protection laws (Aus-
tralia Report 2008).
Water demands for human consumption,
industry and agriculture in Australia have
increased stresses on this limited resource and
resulted in the over-allocation of rivers and
other water sources. The Murray-Darling Basin
provides an important case in point. It is one of
