Wetland Drainage, Restoration, and Repair

摘要

'For centuries the drainage of wetlands has been seen as a progressive, public spirited endeavour, the very antithesis of vandalism' (Baldock 1984). How different is the view today, underpinned by both the increased wealth of evidence of the true value of the services provided by the natural functioning of wetland ecosystems and profiled by an increasing number of influential statements from both scientists and policy-makers. Key analyses such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) and individual national inventories have emphasized the importance of wetlands, not only for wildlife, but also human welfare and environmental security. There is therefore considerable interest in their restoration and/or creation after a legacy of human modification and destruction. In the first half of this text, Biebighauser traces the story of wetland drainage for agriculture and, in the second half, provides guidelines for converting dry or previously drained land to wetland. His aim is to help the reader build wetlands, based at least partly on a better understanding of how they were altered in the first place. This is not a scientific treatise but, many will argue, much more useful. It focuses on the practical, not the academic, and the excellent array of photographs and diagrams provides clear understanding and guidance on techniques used and proposed.