Abstract |
Cumulative impacts on the water quality function of wetlands are impacts whose total effect cannot be predicted from the sum of the effects of individual impacts. The wetland is not a simple filter; it embodies chemical, physical, and biotic processes that can detain, transform, release, or produce a wide variety of substances. Because wetland water quality functions result from the operation of many individual, distinct, and quite dissimilar mechanisms, it is necessary to consider the nature of each individual process. Given knowledge of the various wetland processes, it is possible to make more guided judgments about the effects a suite of impacts is likely to have. When considered in this light, many common wetland alterations seem likely to involve cumulative impact. The wetland manager may be guided further by appropriate field measurements at specific sites; such data can aid in predicting cumulative impact or assessing the results of past wetland management. (Copyright (c) 1988 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.) |