4 research outputs found
Ecosystem services of wetlands: pathfinder for a new paradigm
Ecosystem services are natural assets produced by the environment and utilized by humans, such as clean
air, water, food and materials and contributes to social and cultural well-being. This concept, arguably, has been
developed further in wetlands than any other ecosystem. Wetlands were historically important in producing the
extensive coal deposits of the Carboniferous period; key steps in human development took place in communities
occupying the wetland margins of rivers, lakes and the sea; and wetlands play a key role in the hydrological cycle
influencing floods and river droughts. In this paper we examine three pillars that support the wetland research
agenda: hydrology, wetland origins and development, and linkages to society. We investigate these through an
overview of the evolution of wetland science and assessment of the wide range of topics relating to ecosystem
services covered in this Special Issue. We explain the seminal change in how modern society values the benefits
of natural ecosystems and highlights the pathfinder role that wetland research has played in the paradigm shift