Article Dans Une Revue Nature Année : 2023

Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries

Etienne Fluet-Chouinard
Benjamin D Stocker
  • Fonction : Auteur
Zhen Zhang
  • Fonction : Auteur
Avni Malhotra
Joe R Melton
Benjamin Poulter
Jed O Kaplan
  • Fonction : Auteur
Kees Klein Goldewijk
  • Fonction : Auteur
Stefan Siebert
Tatiana Minayeva
Gustaf Hugelius
Hans Joosten
Alexandra Barthelmes
  • Fonction : Auteur
Alison M Hoyt
Nick Davidson
  • Fonction : Auteur
C. Max Finlayson
  • Fonction : Auteur
Bernhard Lehner
Robert B Jackson
Peter B Mcintyre
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Wetlands have long been drained for human use, thereby strongly affecting greenhouse gas fluxes, flood control, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. Nevertheless, the global extent of natural wetland loss remains remarkably uncertain. Here, we reconstruct the spatial distribution and timing of wetland loss through conversion to seven human land uses between 1700 and 2020, by combining national and subnational records of drainage and conversion with land-use maps and simulated wetland extents. We estimate that 3.4 million km 2 (confidence interval 2.9-3.8) of inland wetlands have been lost since 1700, primarily for conversion to croplands. This net loss of 21% (confidence interval 16-23%) of global wetland area is lower than that suggested previously by extrapolations of data disproportionately from high-loss regions. Wetland loss has been concentrated in Europe, the United States and China, and rapidly expanded during the mid-twentieth century. Our reconstruction elucidates the timing and land-use drivers of global wetland losses, providing an improved historical baseline to guide assessment of wetland loss impact on Earth system processes, conservation planning to protect remaining wetlands and prioritization of sites for wetland restoration.

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hal-04284742 , version 1 (21-11-2025)

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Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Benjamin D Stocker, Zhen Zhang, Avni Malhotra, Joe R Melton, et al.. Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries. Nature, 2023, 614 (7947), pp.281-286. ⟨10.1038/s41586-022-05572-6⟩. ⟨hal-04284742⟩
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