hh.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in created agricultural wetlands
Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering (SET), Biological and Environmental Systems (BLESS), Wetland Research Centre.
2009 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

This doctoral dissertation was produced in a cooperation between Halmstad University (Wetland Research Centre, School of Business and Engineering) and Lund University (Limnology & Marine Biology, Department of Ecology).

Abstract . Wetland creation at large, regional scales is implemented as a measure to abate the biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes and the eutrophication of watersheds and coastal areas by non-point source nutrient pollution (mainly nitrogen). The consequences of creating many new wetlands for biodiversity conservation and nutrient reten- tion (ecosystem functioning) in agricultural landscapes are still relatively unknown, both on local (per wetland) and regional (per landscape) scales. In Sweden, wetland creation has progressed already since the 1990s, and by now larger numbers of created wetlands are present, mainly in the intensively farmed landscapes of southwestern Sweden. This thesis aimed to investigate the following aspects in these systems: (i) their large-scale effects on biodiversity, (ii) their functional diversity of bacterial denitrifiers, (iii) the abiotic and biotic influences on wetland ecosystem functioning, (iv) the potential for biodiversity-function links, and (v) the potential for functional links and joint functioning.(i) Created wetlands hosted diverse assemblages of macroinvertebrates and plants. They maintained a similar com- position and diversity as natural ponds in agricultural landscapes. The environmental conditions per wetland did hardly affect macroinvertebrate and plant assemblages, and the prerequisites for nutrient retention did neither. In landscapes were wetland creation efforts had increased the total density of small water bodies by more than 30%, macroinver- tebrate diversity of created wetlands was facilitated on both local and regional scales. (ii) Diverse communities of denitrifying bacteria with the capacity for conducting different denitrification steps (functional types) were present in all investigated wetlands. The richness of denitrifying bacteria communities was affected by nitrate concentration and hydraulic loading rate, which may potentially be relevant for the nitrogen retention function of created wetlands. The diversity across different functional types of bacterial denitrifiers increased with nitrate concentration. (iii) Both abiotic and biotic factors influenced ecosystem functions of created wetlands. Variation in nitrogen retention was associated to nitrate load, but even to vegetation parameters. In wetlands with constant nitrate load, planted emergent vegetation facilitated nitrogen retention compared to other vegetation types. In wetlands with variable loads, nitrogen retention was facilitated if nitrate load was high and many different vegetation types were present; nitrogen load could explain the majority of the variation in nitrogen retention compared to vegetation parameters. Phosporus retention of created wetlands was best explained by vegetation parameters. Litter decomposition was inhibited at high nitrate to phosphorus ratios. Methane production increased with age and decreased with plant cover. (iv) Biodiversity may facilitate wetland ecosystem functions, particularly in dynamic wetland ecosystems. Nitrogen retention increased with vegetation type diversity, phosphorus retention capacity with plant richness, and litter decomposition with macroinvertebrate diversity. (v) Created wetlands have the capacity of sustaining several parallel ecosystem services. Some wetland functions were coupled; nitrogen retention increased with fast litter decomposition. On the other hand, methane emission and nitro- gen retention were independent of each other, as were nitrogen and phosphorus retention.In conclusion, created wetlands have the potential to at least partly abate the lost biodiversity and multifunctionality caused by the past extensive destruction of natural wetlands in agricultural landscapes.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Lund: Lund University , 2009. , p. 145
Keywords [en]
constructed ponds, eutrophication abatement, biodiversity conservation, functional diversity, macroinvertebrates, plants, bacterial denitrification, watershed scale, nitrogen removal, phosphorus retention
National Category
Ecology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2968Local ID: 2082/3371ISBN: 978-91-7105-295-7 OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hh-2968DiVA, id: diva2:240186
Public defence
(English)
Supervisors
Note

[Paper II] Milenkovski S., Thiere G., Weisner S.E.B., Berglund O. & Lindgren P.-E. Variation of eubacterial and denitrifying bacterial biofilm communities among constructed wetlands. Submitted manuscript. [Paper V] Thiere G. & Weisner S.E.B. Influence of biotic and abiotic parameters on ecosystem functioning of created wetlands. Manuscript.

Available from: 2009-09-17 Created: 2009-09-17 Last updated: 2018-03-23Bibliographically approved
List of papers
1. Wetland creation in agricultural landscapes: Biodiversity benefits on local and regional scales
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Wetland creation in agricultural landscapes: Biodiversity benefits on local and regional scales
Show others...
2009 (English)In: Biological Conservation, ISSN 0006-3207, E-ISSN 1873-2917, Vol. 142, no 5, p. 964-973Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Wetland creation aiming at a simultaneous increase in nutrient retention and species diversity in agricultural landscapes has recently become applied as a catchment-scale compensation measure for past wetland losses. Here, we evaluate if, and to what extend, dual-purpose wetlands benefit local and regional diversity of agricultural landscapes. We analysed composition and α, β, and γ diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages among dual-purpose wetlands in an agricultural region in southwest Sweden in relation to local (water quality, wetland morphology, succession stage, proximity to other aquatic habitats) and landscape parameters (regional connectivity, wetland density). Diversity of mature agricultural ponds was used as a standard to evaluate the value of dual-purpose wetlands. Dual-purpose wetlands sustained α, β, and γ diversity similar to that of natural lentic water bodies in agricultural landscapes in the region and elsewhere. Over 80% of the overall species richness was attributed to β diversity, and each created wetland contributed to overall species accumulation. Ecosystem parameters explained 19% of the compositional variation among assemblages, but were only marginally related to diversity. Wetland density promoted α and γ diversity, while spatial heterogeneity (β) remained equally high, independent of wetland density. Our results indicate that catchment-scale wetland creation for simultaneous retention and diversity purposes benefits the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes, particularly if the density of aquatic habitats is increased by at least 30%.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Barking: Elsevier, 2009
Keywords
Benthic macroinvertebrates, Species richness, Assemblage composition, Ecosystem services, Catchment restoration, Aquatic habitat density
National Category
Civil Engineering Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2433 (URN)10.1016/j.biocon.2009.01.006 (DOI)000265338600004 ()2-s2.0-62049085518 (Scopus ID)2082/2835 (Local ID)2082/2835 (Archive number)2082/2835 (OAI)
Available from: 2009-03-30 Created: 2009-03-30 Last updated: 2022-09-13Bibliographically approved
2. Nitrogen retention versus methane emission: Environmental benefits and risks of large-scale wetland creation
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Nitrogen retention versus methane emission: Environmental benefits and risks of large-scale wetland creation
2011 (English)In: Ecological Engineering: The Journal of Ecotechnology, ISSN 0925-8574, E-ISSN 1872-6992, Vol. 37, no 1, p. 6-15Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Coastal eutrophication by nutrient fluxes from agricultural land to marine recipients is presently combated by measures such as the implementation of watershed-scale wetland creation programs aimed at nitrogen removal. Such created agricultural wetlands – termed ‘nitrogen farming wetlands’ (NFWs) – receive nitrogen (N) loads predominantly as nitrate, facilitating N removal by denitrification. However, the conversion of agricultural soils into waterlogged wetland area is likely to increase climate gas emissions, particularly methane (CH4). There is thus a need to evaluate the benefits and risks of wetland creation at a large, watershed-scale. Here we investigate N retention and CH4 emission originating from watershed-scale wetland creation in South Sweden, the relation between both processes, and how CH4 emission depends on individual wetland parameters. We combine data from intensively studied reference wetlands with an extensive wetland survey to predict N retention and CH4 emission with simple models, to estimate the overall process rates (large-scale effects) as well as spatial variation among individual NFWs. We show that watershed-scale wetland creation serves targeted environmental objectives (N retention), and that CH4 emission is comparably low. Environmental benefit and risk of individual wetlands were not correlated, and may thus be managed independently. High cover of aquatic plants was the most important wetland property that suppressed CH4 net production, potentially facilitating N retention simultaneously. Further, differences between wetlands in water temperature and wetland age seemed to contribute to differences in CH4 net production. The nationally planned wetland creation (12,000 ha) could make a significant contribution to the targeted reduction of N fluxes (up to 27% of the Swedish environmental objective), at an environmental risk equaling 0.04% of the national anthropogenic climate gas emission.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2011
Keywords
Watershed, Constructed wetlands, Nutrients, Climate gases CH4 N2O CO2, Ecosystem services
National Category
Chemical Sciences Earth and Related Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2963 (URN)10.1016/j.ecoleng.2009.02.002 (DOI)000287464400002 ()2-s2.0-66049088712 (Scopus ID)2082/3366 (Local ID)2082/3366 (Archive number)2082/3366 (OAI)
Available from: 2009-09-14 Created: 2009-09-14 Last updated: 2022-09-13Bibliographically approved
3. Effects of vegetation state on biodiversity and nitrogen retention in created wetlands: a test of the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning hypothesis
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Effects of vegetation state on biodiversity and nitrogen retention in created wetlands: a test of the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning hypothesis
2010 (English)In: Freshwater Biology, ISSN 0046-5070, E-ISSN 1365-2427, Vol. 55, no 2, p. 387-396Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

1. Nitrogen retention in wetlands provides an example of an ecosystem function that is desired by human society, and is a rationale for the creation of wetlands to decrease nitrogen fluxes from nitrate-loaded river catchments to coastal waters.

2. Here, we tested the impact of different vegetation states on species diversity and nitrogen retention during 4 years in surface-flow wetlands receiving nitrate-rich water. Tall emergent vegetation or submerged vegetation was introduced to six experimental wetlands each and six wetlands were left as unplanted controls for free development of vegetation. This resulted in three vegetation states dominated by emergent vegetation, by a mixture of submerged vegetation and filamentous green algae or by filamentous green algae.

3. Species diversity (species richness and Shannon diversity) of plants was initially lowest in free development wetlands, but during the study became lower in the emergent vegetation wetlands than in the other wetlands. Diversity of macroinvertebrates was initially lower in the submerged vegetation wetlands than in the other wetlands, but this difference disappeared during the study. Nitrogen retention was consistently higher in emergent vegetation wetlands than in the other wetlands throughout the study.

4. We conclude that plant diversity in wetlands dominated by tall emergent vegetation gradually became lower than in other wetlands, due to dominant species competitively excluding other plants. However, these wetlands were more efficient at removing nitrogen than those dominated by filamentous algae or submerged macrophytes.

5. Management of wetlands often aims to decrease the dominance of tall emergent vegetation for the benefit of plant species diversity and habitat heterogeneity. Our results demonstrate a biodiversity benefit, but also show that this strategy may decrease the ability of wetlands to remove nitrogen. In this case, there is no support for the hypothesis that biodiversity enhances ecosystem function.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2010
Keywords
Benthic macroinvertebrates, Constructed wetlands, Ecosystem functioning, Macrophytes, Species richness
National Category
Biological Sciences Civil Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2964 (URN)10.1111/j.1365-2427.2009.02288.x (DOI)000273602500009 ()2-s2.0-74049160776 (Scopus ID)2082/3367 (Local ID)2082/3367 (Archive number)2082/3367 (OAI)
Available from: 2009-09-14 Created: 2009-09-14 Last updated: 2022-09-13Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

fulltext(1867 kB)1319 downloads
File information
File name FULLTEXT01.pdfFile size 1867 kBChecksum SHA-512
42f3e7e132b9f5398870ac6a59d091437051b3cac5453ff912127d5da17a088565075beb6e73483229c784522216f3a3a008d50a590ab92f0588cef0dee56e5c3b722bbfdea55228bd97617919f383c2
Type fulltextMimetype application/pdf

Authority records

Thiere, Geraldine

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Thiere, Geraldine
By organisation
Wetland Research Centre
Ecology

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar
Total: 1319 downloads
The number of downloads is the sum of all downloads of full texts. It may include eg previous versions that are now no longer available

isbn
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

isbn
urn-nbn
Total: 870 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf