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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #291895
Title: Bringing together science and policy to protect and enhance wetland ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes

Author
item TANNER, CHRIS - National Institute Of Water And Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Ltd
item HOWARD-WILLIAMS, CLIVE - National Institute Of Water And Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Ltd
item Tomer, Mark
item Lowrance, Robert

Submitted to: Ecological Engineering
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2013
Publication Date: 7/1/2013
Citation: Tanner, C.C., Howard-Williams, C., Tomer, M.D., Lowrance, R.R. 2013. Bringing together science and policy to protect and enhance wetland ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. Ecological Engineering. 56:1-4.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Wetland ecosystems operate at the cusp of hydrological and ecological functioning of agricultural landscapes, and provide a range important functions that benefit human societies worldwide. However, agricultural development has led to the drainage, degradation, and loss of vast areas of wetland that were once part of rural landscapes. It is critical to bring together science and policy to ensure that the ecosystem services provided by wetlands are properly recognized and appropriate efforts made to create, protect, and restore wetlands as integral components of sustainable agricultural landscapes. An International Symposium on Wetland Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes was held September 2011 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Thirteen presentations were delivered from nine OECD countries on subjects including the benefits and potential dis-benefits of wetlands, practical issues with integration and the optimal functioning of wetlands within agricultural landscapes, economic valuation of wetland ecosystem services, and assessment of the success of different policy approaches for recognition and promotion of the value of wetlands. This editorial summarizes a set of eleven papers comprising a special issue on ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, and identifies science and policy issues that, if addressed, would help us understand agricultural wetlands and how to realize their potential ecosystem services and benefits.