Discover: Human Effects on Wetlands

Wetlands are home to numerous plants and animals, and you have just seen how easily their delicate food webs can be disrupted.  To preserve the homes of these organisms, we need to take special care of wetlands.  They are important not just to the plants and animals living there, but wetlands are important to humans, too!  Remember that, at the beginning of this unit, we saw how wetlands were important for filtering our water and preventing soil erosion.  We also use wetlands for education and recreation.


Sadly, we have already lost much of Alberta wetlands to the building of urban areas that include cities and towns. Many wetland areas have been converted to agricultural use (farming). Human activity has already had a huge effect on the loss of wetlands, but increasingly people are becoming aware of this issue. Much effort is made to make people aware of the importance of wetland conservation.

Play the Wild Wetlands to see some of the ways people can affect water quality in the environment. Click on the link, then click on the Vancouver Aquarium – Wild Wetlands game.

What is the effect of human activity on wetlands?

Resources

Notebook

Click here to download the instructions for this activity. Save to your Wetlands Notebook.

  Career Connection

Jobs in Wetland Conservation

Are you interested in a career that would allow you to help preserve our wetlands? There are many jobs in this area. Play the following game to restore a mined-out gravel pit and change it into a restored wetland. Learn about the various careers that are involved in this process. As you move through the game, click the various job titles to read the job description of each person during the project.

Game: Click here to play Wetland for Wildlife

  Check Your Answers

Once you have completed this activity, check your answers below.  

Human Affects on Wetlands Note-Taking Organizer

What are the three main sources of pollution affecting wetlands?
  1. agriculture
  2. industry
  3. human waste and garbage
What happens to pollutants that enter the wetlands?
  • dilute in the water
  • settle into sediments
  • taken up by plants
  • released as gas into the air

Describe 4 problems affecting wetlands and how they can be addressed:
Problem Effect on wetlands
What can we do?
1. leisure activities such as boating, waterskiing, and snowmobiling
  • oil left on plants and animals
  • disruption if ecosystem by speed boats
  • compacting snow and crushing plants
  • canoe instead of speed boat, or slow down
  • keep boat engine tuned
  • avoid certain areas when snowmobiling
2. wetland exploitation (harvesting peat)
  • quickly destroyed by people taking away its resources
  • save energy
  • buy soil conditioners that are by-products of other processes (instead of peat)
3. commercial development
  • destroying wetlands to build towns and cities
  • encourage government to designate wetlands as conservation areas
  • make better use of land we already live on
  • build on other types of land that have less ecological effect
4. agriculture
  • draining wetlands to build farms
  • pesticides and fertilizers
  • erosion and flooding
  • pesticides and fertilizers contaminate the food web
  • support laws that protect wetlands from agricultural expansion
  • support farming organizations that protect wetlands
  • support the reduction of pesticide and fertilizer use, or use organic alternatives