The world's largest wetlands : ecology and conservation / edited by Lauchlan H. Fraser and Paul A. Keddy.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Introduction : big is beautiful / P.A. Keddy, L.H. Fraser -- The West Siberian lowland / A.I. Solomeshch -- The Amazon River basin / W.J. Junk, M.T.F. Piedade -- The Hudson Bay lowland / K.F. Abraham, C.J. Keddy -- The Congo River basin / D. Campbell -- The Mackenzie River basin / D.H. Vitt, L.A. Halsey, B.J. Nicholson -- The Pantanal / C.J.R. Alho -- The Mississippi River alluvial plain / G.P. Shaffer, J.G. Gosselink, S.S. Hoeppner -- The Lake Chad basin / J. Lemoalle -- The River Nile basin / I. Springuel, O. Ali -- The prairie potholes of North America / A.G. van der Valk -- The Magellanic moorland / M.T.K. Arroyo [and others] -- The future of large wetlands : a global perspective / L.H. Fraser, P.A. Keddy.

During the past century approximately fifty percent of the world's wetlands have been destroyed, largely due to human activities. Increased human population has lead to shrinkage of wetland areas, and data show that as they shrink, their important functions decline. Reduced wetland area causes more flooding in Spring, less available water during drought, greater risk of water pollution, and less food production and reduced carbon storage. Much of the remaining pristine wetland systems are found in the world's largest wetlands, and yet these areas have received surprisingly little scientific research or attention. This volume presents the views of leading experts on each of the world's largest wetland systems. Here, this international team of authors share their understanding of the ecological dynamics of large wetlands and their significance, and emphasise their need of conservation.