Melchiorre 1

Michael Melchiorre
Mrs. Crist
English IV
4/6/16
Wetland Restoration
Among the many ecosystems that exist, wetlands are one of the most productive and
diverse in the world. Unfortunately, these marshy swamps have declined drastically due to the
anthropogenic ways of humans. This has created numerous problems that can be detrimental to
our health that range from carbon pollution to the decline of water quality. Luckily,
environmental engineers (ENE) have created and use various methods to reverse these effects.
By applying these methods, ENEs can restore the ecological damage done to wetlands.
Since the late 19th century, wetlands have deteriorated with the rapid expansion of mans
interaction with the environment. This has led to a multitude of environmental concerns that
endanger not only humans, but the local fauna and flora too. These issues consist of, but are not
limited to carbon emissions, water pollution, flooding, resource depletion, erosion, and the loss
of biodiversity. The effects of these issues alone can be devastating to most of the world.
According to The Federal Emergency Management Agency, for every 100 acres of wetland
destroyed, a 36 percent increase of erosion and sea level will result (Wetland Disturbance and
Impact 1). This grueling statistic means that most of our crops will be destroyed, wildlife will
diminish, our water will become unusable, and most of the land will become uninhabitable.

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Wetlands naturally provide functions to tackle these issues through carbon sequestration,
flood protection, and erosion control. They achieve this through their multipurpose sponge like
properties. However, this natural process can no longer fulfill its purpose and it has relied on
environmental engineers to design and use apparatuses to reanimate this process. In order to
achieve this, ENEs have to create or enhance the degraded hydrology and vegetation. The
structures used to restore the hydrology include weirs, berms, dikes, ditches, rice levees, stop
logs, and chutes (Wetland Restoration, Enhancement, and Management 10). For the
vegetation, they typically install seed banks, sod mats, and donor top soil.
These processes have significantly helped restore the physical, chemical, and biological
characteristics of wetlands. Notice how you dont hear much about the flooding in Louisiana
anymore? This is because the EPA has restored 58 percent of the wetlands there to provide
ample flood protection (Kentula 1). Over 250 million acres of wetlands have been restored and
that number is climbing. These few results show some of the improvements environmental
engineers have accomplished over the years. Although these results show a positive outlook for
the future, ENEs still have a long way to go in restoring wetlands. As society continues to affect
the environment and keep ignoring the consequences, progress in restoring these marshy swamps
will be hindered.
Wetlands have become greatly depended on environmental engineers because of the
anthropogenic affects that have been brought to the environment. These range from carbon
pollution to the decline of water quality. In order to mend these issues, apparatuses and processes
were created by ENEs to reanimate the natural process that is hindered by human interaction in
the environment. As the results show, we just may be on the road to fixing our mistakes. Albeit
we caused the aforementioned mistakes, we may very well be the one to write them.

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Work Cited
EPA. "Why Are Wetlands Important?" EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 18 Nov. 2015.
Web. 15 Mar. 2016.
EPA. "Wetlands Restoration Definitions and Distinctions." EPA. Environmental Protection
Agency, 17 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Kentula, Mary E. "Restoration, Creation, and Recovery of Wetlands Wetland Restoration and
Creation." Wetland Restoration and Creation. 29 Jan. 2002. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Wetland Disturbance and Impact." Wetland Disturbance and Impact. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
"Wetland Restoration, Enhancement, and Management." NRCS. Jan. 2003. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.