The single most important book on wetlands, newly expanded and updatedWetlands is the definitive guide to this fragile ecosystem, providing the most comprehensive coverage and in-depth information available in print. Recently updated and expanded, this latest edition contains brand new information on Wetland Ecosystem Services and an updated discussion on Wetland, Carbon, and Climate Change and Wetland Creation and Restoration. Due to popular demand, the authors have brought back five streamlined chapters on wetland ecosystems that had been removed from previous editions, and provided more robust ancillary materials including an online color photo gallery, PowerPoint slides, and several video case studies.As nature's kidneys, wetland ecosystems help the environment process toxins and excess fertilizers and maintain the relative health of our aquatic ecosystems. As the understanding of their importance grows, their management and ecology have gained increased attention and have become an area of professional specialization over the past two decades. This book gives readers a solid understanding of wetlands, how they work, what they do, and why the Earth can't live without them.Understand wetlands' role in the ecosystem, from local to global scalesAppreciate the fact that wetlands may be the most logical and economical way to sequester carbon from the atmosphereDiscover the unique characteristics that make wetlands critically important for improving water quality, reducing storm and flood damage, and providing habitat to support biodiversityLearn how wetlands are being managed or destroyed around the globe but also how we can create and restore themExamine the ways in which climate change is affecting wetland ecosystems and wetland ecosystems affect climate changeWetlands are crucial to the health of the planet, and we've only begun to realize the magnitude of the damage that has already been done as we scramble to save them. A generation of ecologists, ecological engineers, land use planners, and water resource managers worldwide owe their knowledge of the wetlands to this book – for the next generation to follow in their footsteps, Wetlands 5th edition is the quintessential guide to these critical systems.

WILLIAM J. MITSCH is Professor and Eminent Scholar at Florida Gulf Coast University and the Director of its Everglades Wetland Research Park, as well as Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management. With Sven Jorgensen of Denmark, Mitsch was the 2004 winner of the Stockholm Water Prize. JAMES G. GOSSELINK is Professor Emeritus at the Center for Coast and Environment at Louisiana State University. He was awarded the Society of Wetland Scientists Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.