Draining wetlands produces substantial emissions in the Canadian Prairies

By Kerri Finlay, Professor, Department of Biology, University of Regina
Colin Whitfield, Associate Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan
Lauren Bortolotti, Adjunct Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan

The value of wetlands on the landscape cannot be overstated — they store and filter water, provide wildlife habitat, cool the atmosphere and sequester carbon. Yet, in the farmland area of Canada’s Prairies, wetlands are being drained to increase crop production and expand urban development.

While wetlands sequester carbon, they also naturally release greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. That means the impact of wetland drainage on net GHG emissions was previously difficult to determine.

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