This year is the UN International year of family farming, so the Ramsar Convention decided that the 2014 theme should be 'Wetlands & Agriculture' with the slogan, 'Wetlands and agriculture: Partners for growth', placing focus on the need for the wetland and agriculture sectors to work together for the best shared outcomes.
Wetlands have often been seen as a barrier to agriculture, and they continue to be drained and reclaimed to make farming land available. But the essential role of wetlands in support of agriculture is becoming clearer and clearer, and there are successful agricultural practices which support healthy wetlands.
What is a Wetland?
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem.Primarily, the factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation that is adapted to its unique soil conditions: Wetlands consist primarily of hydric soil, which supports aquatic plants.
The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. Main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs and fens. Sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, and varzea.
Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, and shoreline stability. Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life.
Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica.
They can also be constructed artificially as a water management tool, which may play a role in the developing field of water-sensitive urban design.
Salinity has a strong influence on wetland water chemistry, particularly in wetlands along the coast.In non-riverine wetlands, natural salinity is regulated by interactions between ground and surface water, which may be influenced by human activity.
