GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Wetlands act as filters and help reduce the nutrient load from fertiliser use and urban waste water and help prevent eutrophication in lakes and streams.

Detailed explanation-2: -Flood control: Wetlands function as natural barriers that trap and slowly release surface water, rain, snowmelt, and groundwater and flood waters.

Detailed explanation-3: -Wetland systems directly and indirectly support lakhs of people, providing goods and services to them. They help check floods, prevent coastal erosion and mitigate the effects of natural disasters like cyclones and tidal waves. They store water for long periods.

Detailed explanation-4: -Wetlands purify our water by removing sediments and other pollutants including chemicals. Wetlands also filter and process excess nutrients that may runoff from agricultural and development sites. Wetlands have been called “the kidneys of our watersheds.”

Detailed explanation-5: -Wetlands are often drained for conversion to other land uses, and the drainage water pumped into adjacent wetlands and aquatic systems. In many areas of the United States, organic soils that formed as wetlands have been drained for agricultural use.