wetlands of Canada

Canadian wetlands account for approximately one quarter of the world's total wetlands and is ranked with the highest surface area of wetlands on the Ramsar Conventions List of Wetlands of International Importance. Canada holds 37 designated areas of International Importance which equates to approximately 13,086,767 hectares of land.

Wetlands play an important role in Canadian in ecosystem functioning as they protect coastal areas from erosion; regulate water from large floods; prevent toxic sediments and substances from getting into groundwater; provide habitats for various species; participate and contribute to the water cycle; and serve as a natural storage base for carbon. It is wetlands that provide productive habitats with high species diversity and nutrient cycling in comparison to many other ecosystems. In addition to ecological functions, wetlands contribute to socio-economic frameworks in Canada such as hunting, trapping and fishing; tourism and recreation; domestic peat energy source and resource for peat; provide materials for forest products; and account for some natural heritage areas.

Data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).