shorelines in a harsh environment that currently has limited salmon habitat. These living shorelines may provide critical missing wetland and aquatic habitat to restore juvenile salmon migration corridors. n
Suarez, Esteban, Universidad San Francisco de Quito Lilleskov, Erik Zurita-Arthos, Leo Chimner, Rodney Chimbolema, Segundo
Presented during S8: Tropical wetlands and opportunities for climate change adaptation and mitigation – Scientific advancements and innovative tools I, 6/8/2021 8:35AM - 10:25AM ET
Andean high-elevation (páramo) peatlands are an understudied and highly threatened ecosystem. Although these environments provide crucial ecosystem services throughout the Andean region in the form of water regulation, and carbon storage, traditional uses (agriculture, cattle grazing, water abstraction) have profound impacts on their structure and functioning. However, proper management and restoration of these peatlands is greatly hampered by a lack of baseline information and little local experience on available restoration approaches that could be adapted to the conditions of Andean peatlands. Here we report on a countryscale assessment of the conservation status of Ecuadorian páramo peatlands, discuss restoration/conservation opportunities for this ecosystem, and present three-year data on a pilot peatlands restoration project on Northern Ecuadorian peatlands. Preliminary analysis of national data on páramo peatlands shows a markedly contrasting picture. A large proportion of the páramo peatlands of the Eastern cordillera is in excellent condition, probably due to the remoteness and harsh climate of this region and, at least partially, to the presence of several protected areas. In contrast, most páramo peatlands in the Western cordillera either show signs of severe degradation, or have been completely transformed by grazing, agriculture, and water abstraction projects), especially in the central and southern highlands of Ecuador. Damage to many these Western peatlands results from they being the only wet spots in a relatively dry region, which historically put these ecosystems as hotspots for human occupation and use. Although these conditions make it difficult to find opportunities to start new restoration initiatives, our pilot project shows that functional and structural restoration of páramo peatlands can be achieved with low monetary investments and in relatively short periods of time. n
THE SWAMP INITIATIVE: INTEGRATION OF TROPICAL WETLAND RESEARCH, CAPACITY BUILDING, AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE GLOBE Kolka, Randy, USDA Forest Service Carbon-rich tropical wetlands (mangroves and peatlands) are important in climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and provide numerous ecosystem services such as storm protection, nursery areas for fish, habitat for rare species, long-term storage of carbon, and food, fiber, and fuel for humans. Because of their importance we developed the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP) to assist countries with their accounting and conservation of tropical wetlands. SWAMP is a collaborative effort between the Center for International Forestry Research and the USDA Forest Service through support from the US Agency for International Development. The goal of SWAMP is to provide policy makers and natural resource professionals with credible information and training to make sound decisions regarding the role of tropical wetlands in climate change adaptation and mitigation. The SWAMP objectives are to: (1) Quantify greenhouse gas emissions from intact and disturbed wetlands; (2) Quantify carbon stocks of representative tropical wetlands; (3) Develop carbon modeling tools and scaling approaches using remote sensing; (4) Define roles for tropical wetlands in climate change adaptation strategies; and (5) Promote capacity building and outreach as integral parts of all activities. Over the 10+ years of SWAMP, the integration of research, outreach and policy has led to important changes both at the country scale and globally with regards to REDD+ programs, IPCC reporting, overall awareness of the importance of tropical wetlands in the global carbon balance, and considerably improved governmental responses to changing climate. n Presented during S8: Tropical wetlands and opportunities for climate change adaptation and mitigation – Scientific advancements and innovative tools III, 6/8/2021 1:15PM - 3:05PM ET
NEW INSIGHTS ON MOUNTAIN PEATLAND RESTORATION IN ECUADOR 220 Wetland Science & Practice July 2021
Presented during S9: SWS Career Narratives: 2) Navigating a wetland scientist career: Lessons for the next generation (organized by Gary Ervin, Excerpts by Doug Wilcox), 6/8/2021 1:15PM - 3:05PM ET
LAND MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH IN WETLANDS Duever, Michael, Natural Ecosystems LLC I have always liked animals, especially reptiles. I originally kept them as pets, buying some and capturing others in the wild. I studied reptiles in college, and fish populations on my first professional job. As much as I enjoyed working with them, I eventually came to realize that these and
