The oil and gas industry is a main contributor to the loss of coastal Louisiana land. Oil and gas exploration has channelized the coastal zone to its breaking point, injecting salt water into freshwater habitats and killing freshwater ecosystems and increasing erosion (USACE).
What happened to Louisiana’s wetlands?
The State’s wetlands extend as much as 130 kilometers inland and along the coast for about 300 kilometers. Not all the wetlands are receding; in fact some wetlands are stable, and others are growing. But, at the present net rate of wetlands loss, Louisiana will have lost this crucial habitat in about 200 years .
What is the main cause of loss of wetlands?
The EPA also list the following as major human causes of wetland loss: logging, runoff, air and water pollution , introducing nonnative species. ... This lowers the water table and dries out the wetland. Diverting flow: Water is diverted around wetlands, lowering the water table.
Where is draining wetlands most common?
They are most prevalent in the United States on the eastern coast from Maine to Florida and continuing on to Louisiana and Texas along the Gulf of Mexico . Some are freshwater marshes, others are brackish (somewhat salty), and still others are saline (salty), but they are all influenced by the motion of ocean tides.
What are the negative effects of wetlands?
The Problem
Wetlands destruction has increased flood and drought damage, nutrient runoff and water pollution, and shoreline erosion , and triggered a decline in wildlife populations.
Why is Louisiana so swampy?
Over thousands of years, outlets and inlets from the Mississippi River formed Louisiana’s bayous. These shallow bodies of water, often called swamps, appear stagnant , with opaque or clear water. Louisiana’s coastal bayous contain a mixture of saltwater and freshwater, also known as brackish water.
How much land does Louisiana lose per day?
Some researchers estimate that the state is losing a land mass equivalent to 30 football fields every day .
How much of Louisiana is disappearing?
The Mississippi River Delta and coastal Louisiana are disappearing at an astonishing rate: a football field of wetlands vanishes into open water every 100 minutes. Since the 1930s, Louisiana has lost over 2,000 square miles of land , an area roughly the size of Delaware. Many factors have contributed to this collapse.
Why is draining wetlands bad?
Because wetlands are so productive and greatly influence the flow and quality of water , they are valuable to everyone. Destruction of wetlands can lead to serious consequences, such as increased flooding, extinction of species, and decline in water quality.
Why wetlands should not be drained?
Drainage exposes more volume of the soil to oxygen and alters the conditions which led to development of wetland soils. Following drainage, oxygen is rapidly consumed and resupplied by the atmosphere, leading to more rapid chemical changes than those occurring under flooded conditions.
What are the biggest threats to wetlands?
- Unsustainable development. Over the last 300 years, a staggering 87% of the world’s wetlands have been lost. ...
- Pollution. 80% of our global wastewater is released into wetlands untreated. ...
- Invasive species. ...
- Climate change.
Is it bad to live near wetlands?
If you live near a wetland, be careful about providing outdoor access to garbage cans, pet food, and bird seed . All these can attract raccoons, skunks, and other predators, which might prey on reptiles and their young.
What do humans do to wetlands?
Human activities cause wetland degradation and loss by changing water quality, quantity, and flow rates ; increasing pollutant inputs; and changing species composition as a result of disturbance and the introduction of nonnative species.
How does filling in wetlands affect ecosystems?
Direct impacts result from disturbances that occur within the wetland. Common direct impacts to wetlands include filling, grading, removal of vegetation, building construction and changes in water levels and drainage patterns.
Is Louisiana built on water?
The entire delta, under natural conditions, lay above sea level, ranging from a few inches along the coastal fringe to over a dozen feet high at the crest of the Mississippi River’s natural levee. Nature built lower Louisiana above sea level , albeit barely—and mutably.
Why is Louisiana such a fragile region?
The state’s coastal habitats had been losing wetlands at a rate unmatched elsewhere in the nation, due to a combination of dams and levees cutting off sediment from the Mississippi River and the construction of thousands of miles of oil and gas canals and deep navigation channels.
