Answer 1:
Arctic wetlands have suffered less
destruction and fragmentation from human
activities than wetlands in lower latitudes,
mainly because there are fewer people living
there, building roads, farming, diverting water
and polluting. However, this does mean that they
are immune from human interference. For example,
in Finland, a large fraction of the peatlands
have been drained for forestry use. Draining
wetlands results in a decrease in biodiversity,
as well as a loss of nesting areas for migratory
birds. Another problem faced by Arctic wetlands
is overgrazing by sheep and reindeer, which is
detrimental to plants and lichen, and may also
result in increased erosion. Mining and oil and
gas exploration can cause habitat fragmentation
by building roads and potentially destroy
habitat with pollution. Climate change is likely
to have serious impacts on Arctic wetland
habitats in the future. In the Arctic,
temperatures are rising at nearly twice the rate
of global average temperatures. Permafrost,
permanently frozen ground, plays an important
role in the formation of Arctic wetlands, so
melting of permafrost could contribute to the
destruction of some habitats. Additionally, it
is predicted that warming will cause Arctic
wetlands to become drier as a result of
increased evapotranspiration.
|