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Ecosystem services

Ecosystem services provided by wetlands include:

• Flood mitigation - wetlands can act like sponges, storing flood water and releasing it slowly back into rivers, lakes and ground water, saving on construction of dams and levees. According to the NSW Wetlands Management Policy, the Barmah-Millewa red gum forests on the River Murray reduce flood peaks by 40-50% during moderate to major floods.
• Pollutant filters - wetlands act as 'nature's kidneys' filtering out contaminants. The NSW Wetlands Management Policy notes that the natural wetland on the Crackenback River near Thredbo removes nearly half of incoming phosphorus and about two-thirds of the nitrogen and reduces the risk of algal blooms downstream. Did you know that pollutant trapping was one of the primary purposes of Canberra's urban lakes? Some aquatic reeds, such as cumbungi, are used to treat wastewater - reed beds and associated algae absorb plant nutrients and can even tolerate and absorb pollutants such as insecticides and heavy metals.
• Salt disposal - salt loads in rivers can be reduced by discharging saline surface or subsurface water to natural or constructed basins where, after evaporation, salt is deposited. There are more than 160 evaporation basins in the Murray Basin on or near the floodplain.
• Stabilisation of streams and channels - vegetated riparian zones reduce streambank erosion.
• Moderation of groundwater change - clearance of vegetation causes groundwater levels to rise, bringing salt to the surface. Maintenance of wetlands and their vegetation helps reduce this.

Although the ecosystem services of a small wetland may not be instantly recognisable, the collective benefits are usually more obvious.