Celebrating World Wetlands Day in Kildare

This week is an important week as it is not only St. Brigid’s Day on February 1, but on February 2 it is World Wetlands Day.

Wetlands are considered any land saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. These include lakes, rivers, floodplains, peatland, estuaries and fish ponds to name a few.

Both geology and a high annual rainfall has resulted in Ireland having 20% of our island covered in wetlands. Why are they important?

According to Teagasc 40% of Ireland’s biodiversity either lives or breeds in wetlands. They store 30% of land–based carbon which is vital for climate change mitigation. They remove pollutants from circulation, they provide protection from flooding, they absorb and store water, they provide employment, food and energy and are a recreation source.

In Ireland, wetlands are protected through the Irish Wildlife Act as Natural Heritage Areas, at a European level through the Habitats Directive as Special Areas of Conservation, and at an International level through Ramsar.

Ramsar also known as ‘The Convention on Wetlands’ is an international environmental treaty signed on February 2 1971 in Ramsar, Iran.

Today Ireland has 45 wetland sites designated as Ramsar sites. While we are very familiar with plants that live on land, there are many that live submerged in water and to live in these conditions the plants must adapt.

They have adapted by having spongy tissue in stems and leaves which helps the plant move oxygen in the air down to their roots. These air channels are known as aerenchyma.

They also still need sunlight to allow them produce energy through the process of photosynthesis. They achieve this by adapting their leaves.

Some are emergent floating on the surface, while others have horizontal leaves that also float on the surface of the water exposing as much as the leaf as possible to sun. Similarly wetland fauna must adapt.

Examples included webbed feet, second clear eyelids that can act like goggles when swimming underwater, and camouflage colouring.

This week take a walk by your local wetland and see what you can observe.