Due to climatic constraints in dryland regions, wetlands usually occur at confluences
of flow paths, whether from surface flow, inter-flow or at locations of groundwater
discharge. Long-term landscape processes that shape valleys and focus the movement
of water and sediment are accountable for providing a suitable template with which
hydrology interacts to allow wetland formation. Current hydrogeomorphic classification
systems do not address system-scale linkages of sediment and water transport across
the landscape, and are therefore unable to contextualise long-term process dynamics.
Misunderstanding long-term earth system processes can result in the application of inappropriate restoration strategies that isolate wetlands from longitudinal drivers of their formation. We propose a genetic classification system that focuses on the mode of wetland formation, and is based on the understanding that genetic processes impact on the outcome hydrology, sedimentology, geomorphology, ecosystem service provision, and long-term dynamics of wetlands in drylands
