Out of sight

Posted on 18 August 2015 | Leave a comment

See our recent paper that links increases in urban water use with impaired ecosystem service provided by rural wetlands located in the water-extraction zone.

A cypress swamp, one of many wetland types. Resulting from groundwater extraction, this swamp is degraded, as indicated by falling cypress trees and the loss and subsidence of organic soil. (Photo: TF Rochow)

A cypress swamp, one of many wetland types. Resulting from groundwater extraction, this swamp is degraded, as indicated by falling cypress trees and the loss and subsidence of organic soil. (Photo: TF Rochow)

Cities use water…lots of water. Urban water demand is one of the most confounding issues of our time, because a city can demand so much water that supplies are stretched thin. “Water wars” erupt, as cities are pitted against each other and against other economic sectors like agriculture and extractive industries in scrambles to get dwindling water resources. The losers in these wars are often out-of-sight natural ecosystems, from which excessive amounts of water are extracted in an effort to satisfy all competitors. In a recent publication by the Lewis Lab, we shine a light on these ecosystems. We document how increases in water demand by a large metropolis (the Tampa Bay region of Florida) diminishes the water balance of rural wetlands, as well as the amount of carbon and nitrogen stored in the soils of those wetlands. Typically, wetland soils hold huge reserves of carbon and nitrogen, and the impairment of this “storage” service results in carbon and nitrogen pollution of air, streams, and bays.

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