Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School

College of Science and Mathematics

Department/Program

Earth and Environmental Studies

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Huan Feng

Committee Member

Pankaj Lal

Committee Member

Duke Ophori

Committee Member

Yang Deng

Committee Member

Yuewei Lin

Abstract

Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth, though they only occupy a very small portion of the planet’s surface. They are highly sensitive ecosystems that have been undergoing an extended period of loss because of anthropogenic stress. Freshwater wetlands number among the most numerous on the planet, and in the United States they make up the overwhelming majority of wetland area. Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are not directly connected to other surface water in a watershed. Freshwater wetlands provide a number of beneficial ecosystem services including climate control, erosion protection, nutrient removal and storage, flood control, food production, raw material production, freshwater production, recreation and cultural resources. These resources can have great economic value. However, the Supreme Court of the United States has held, through a series of cases, that the U.S. Clean Water Act no longer covers GIWs. These decisions have left these sensitive ecosystems without federal protection from water quality degradation. One study has been conducted on the ecosystem services provided by freshwater and geographically isolated wetlands in the United States. This study is an overview of literature on the mechanisms that drive selected ecosystem services and the state of research on geographically isolated wetlands in the United States. Carbon sequestration and methane production, flood controls, nutrient retention and storage, and habitat provision were all considered in this analysis. Two studies focused on the economics of wetland ecosystem services. One study is a meta-analysis of valuation methods and current research on valuation of wetland ecosystem services in land use/land cover change scenarios. This study utilized data drawn from a number of contemporary studies to assess the most common methods of valuation, the relationship between changes in area and its effect on changes in value of ecosystem services, and if linear regression is a suitable model for predicting changes in value when land use/land cover change. The second study was a valuation study of GIWs in the United States using benefit transfer analysis. This study took GIW area from a previous study for the analysis, and the results were used to assess the potential for federal regulation of wetlands under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Finally, a single legal study was conducted. This legal analysis traced the history and development of cultural property law, both internationally and domestically, and its relationship to the protection of natural heritage. Additionally, this study covers the potential for the U.S. National Historic Preservation Act to cover gaps in traditional environmental law for the protection of geographically isolated wetlands.

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