Wetlands deliver a wide range of ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being, such as fish and fiber, water supply, water purification, climate regulation, flood regulation, coastal protection, recreational opportunities, and, increasingly, tourism. Despite these important benefits, the degradation and loss of wetlands is more rapid than that of other ecosystems.
I Through natural processes, such as soil adsorption, chemical filtration and nutrient cycling, the Catskill Watershed provides New York City with clean water at a cost of $1-1.5 billion, much less than the $6-8 billion one-time cost of constructing a water filtration plant plus the $300 million estimated annual operations and maintenance cost.
I U.S. agriculture produces about 500 million tons of crop residue annually, most of which contributes to maintaining soil organic matter. Plans to use crop residues for bioenergy production could deprive agroecosystems of important inputs for future soil productivity, potentially upsetting existing agroecosystem balances.