Sarah Laskow reports on new analysis indicating that in restored wetlands, plants, insects, and animals do not reach their former abundance, density or diversity.
Laskow reports on a new study of 621 wetlands sites from around the world that concludes restored wetlands regained only about three-quarters of their original biological performance. Restored wetlands also hold less carbon on average (23% less) than untouched wetlands. The results of the study may have a significant impact on the ways in which governments require developers to mitigate the impact of their projects.
"...the study's lead author, David Moreno-Mateos, a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, Berkeley, was surprised by how definitive the pattern was. 'It was clear it's happening all over the world and all sorts of wetlands,' he says...A few wetlands had been restored 50 or 100 years ago, but even they don't perform as well as the ones they replaced."
Read the full story: When it Comes to Wetlands, It's Hard to Improve on the Original
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