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FUTURE IMPERFECT
The Carpathian wetlands are very fragile and sensitive
to natural as well as anthropogenic pressures. Over
75% of wetlands at higher elevations have been con-
verted for farming or were lost due to hydro or tourist
infrastructure development. The remaining wetlands
are often degraded and poorly protected. High altitude
wetlands are crucial for both flood management (they
act as sponges and thus level off flood peaks in winter
and low flows in summer) and for biodiversity. Further
wetland loss would reduce habitats for many water de-
pendent plant and animal species and lead to habitat
Wetlands
fragmentation on a regional scale. This would endanger
migrating birds that depend upon a network of wetlands
along their flight routes.
Little research exists on the effects of climate change on
Carpathian wetlands, yet we can draw on studies from
other mountain areas. Most reported are the effect of
increasing temperatures and precipitation changes.
Increased temperatures can lead to drying out of wet-
lands, compounded by higher incidence of drought. If
precipitation declines and groundwater is extracted for
human needs, shallow and temporary areas, such as
depressional wetlands that often harbour rare species,
can be lost entirely. In addition, climate change will af-
fect the carbon cycle and the emission and uptake of
greenhouse gasses by wetlands.
The most vulnerable wetland habitats are peat lands
because they have limited resilience to climate variabil-
ity and are sensitive to human activities and changes
in land use. Less vulnerable are halophytic habitats
(where plants are adapted to saline soils), steppes
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Herczeg Zoltan