Classification and inventory of wetlands: A global overview

Abstract

Classification of wetlands is extremely problematical, definition of the term wetland being a difficult and controversial starting point. Although considerable effort has gone into the development of national and regional wetland classifications, the only attempt at establishing a global system has been under the auspices of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance. In view of the fact that the Ramsar Convention has 70 Contracting Parties world-wide, it is suggested that the Convention's definition and classification system should be adopted generally for international purposes. Much of the world has been covered by preliminary wetland inventories, but there is an urgent need to extend coverage to those areas not yet included. It is essential that all inventory projects give adequate attention to meeting the real information needs of agencies and individuals which have an impact on the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Attention should also be given to providing for wide dissemination and regular updating of information and establishment of procedures for monitoring ecological change at the sites identified.

Wetland classification and inventory in Lithuania

“…Contemporary national, regional, and international classifications (Dugan 1990;Hollis et al 1992;Scott, Jones 1995) are often difficult to compare with each other. There is no officially unified wetland classification in some countries (e.g.…”

The Values of Natural and Constructed Wetlands: A Meta-Analysis

“…Figure 1 To identify candidate studies, we rely on a more stringent definition of wetlands than given by the Ramsar Convention, according to which any area of "marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters" is to be considered a wetland site. This definition potentially encompasses permanently inundated ecosystems such as all areas of coral reefs, sea-grass beds, most rivers and shallow lakes (Scott and Jones 1995). Such ecosystem types were excluded from this analysis, since they are not generally considered as wetlands and are not relevant for the analysis of constructed wetlands values.…”

Scaling Up Ecosystem Services Values: Methodology, Applicability and a Case Study

“…Due to the large scope of the meta-analysis performed by Ghermandi et al (2007) in fact, the definition of wetland upon which the selection of ecosystems types and valuation studies was based is a comprehensive one. It encompasses all ecosystem types embraced by the Ramsar definition 7 with the exception of rice cultivations, coral reefs, sea-grass beds, rivers, and shallow lakes, which are implicitly included in the Ramsar definition but are seldom regarded as wetlands (Scott and Jones, 1995). The definition of wetland used in the EEA land cover data, however (see Table 3.1), is more restrictive and explicitly excludes wooded areas such as wet forests and forested floodplains, which are classified as forest ecosystems, and estuaries and coastal lagoons, which are regarded as water bodies.…”