Wading Right In: Discovering the Nature of Wetlands
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Wading Right In: Discovering the Nature of Wetlands
By: Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth
Where can you find mosses that change landscapes, salamanders with algae in their skin, and carnivorous plants containing whole ecosystems in their furled leaves? Where can you find swamp-trompers, wildlife watchers, marsh managers, and mud-mad scientists? In wetlands, those complex habitats that play such vital ecological roles.
In Wading Right In, Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth take us on a journey into wetlands through stories from the people who wade in the muck.
Traveling alongside scientists, explorers, and kids with waders and nets, the authors uncover the inextricably entwined relationships between the water flows, natural chemistry, soils, flora, and fauna of our floodplain forests, fens, bogs, marshes, and mires.
Tales of mighty efforts to protect rare orchids, restore salt marshes, and preserve sedge meadows become portals through which we visit major wetland types and discover their secrets, while also learning critical ecological lessons.
The United States still loses wetlands at a rate of 13,800 acres per year. Such loss diminishes the water quality of our rivers and lakes, depletes our capacity for flood control, reduces our ability to mitigate climate change, and further impoverishes our biodiversity.
Koning and Ashworth’s stories captivate the imagination and inspire the emotional and intellectual connections we need to commit to protecting these magical and mysterious places.
Paperback; 264 pages
ISBN: 978-0226554358
About the Authors
Catherine Owen Koning, PhD, is professor of environmental science and chair of the Division of Natural Sciences at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. She has conducted research in wetland ecology, hydrology, and plant ecology in Maine, New Hampshire, California, and Wisconsin.
Sharon M. Ashworth, PhD, is an ecologist and writer based in Lawrence, Kansas. After years working in academia and for nonprofits, she now manages an Extension Master Gardener Program for Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Praise For Wading Right In: Discovering The Nature Of Wetlands…
"The importance of wetlands cannot be overstated. They play a vital carbon sequestration role in a changing climate. Coastal wetlands are also a protective bulwark between ocean and dry land and provide a haven for a huge range of resident and migratory wildlife.
The authors’ efforts to highlight these benefits and to inspire a love of—or at least a tolerance for—mud, wind, and damp, flat horizons make this book an excellent and engaging introduction to these ever-changing ecosystems."
— Science
"As demonstrated in the stories of the book, when people get to know wetlands and understand their oddity and importance, they feel an urge to conserve them. This is the function of the book.
The reader is immersed in stories and adventures of field biologists who work in wetlands and learns about the biology and complex dynamics of these unique habitats in a simple and engaging way."
— Conservation Biology
An enjoyable, inspiring, and motivating read for everyone to understand and appreciate the beauty and wonders of wetlands. . . .
The efforts Koning and Ashworth put into this book should be praised.
As a coastal wetland ecologist and educator, I have in not a few cases found it challenging to convince students to appreciate, develop a passion for, and enjoy studying highly valuable coastal wetlands that are nonetheless muddy, smelly, and ‘ugly’ in appearance.
I am going to pass along the book that I have just read and enjoyed to the students in my lab in the hope that, after reading it, they will have more fun when they wade into the muck to explore some of the wildest coastal wetlands in the coming summer."
— Current Biology
By: Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth
Where can you find mosses that change landscapes, salamanders with algae in their skin, and carnivorous plants containing whole ecosystems in their furled leaves? Where can you find swamp-trompers, wildlife watchers, marsh managers, and mud-mad scientists? In wetlands, those complex habitats that play such vital ecological roles.
In Wading Right In, Catherine Owen Koning and Sharon M. Ashworth take us on a journey into wetlands through stories from the people who wade in the muck.
Traveling alongside scientists, explorers, and kids with waders and nets, the authors uncover the inextricably entwined relationships between the water flows, natural chemistry, soils, flora, and fauna of our floodplain forests, fens, bogs, marshes, and mires.
Tales of mighty efforts to protect rare orchids, restore salt marshes, and preserve sedge meadows become portals through which we visit major wetland types and discover their secrets, while also learning critical ecological lessons.
The United States still loses wetlands at a rate of 13,800 acres per year. Such loss diminishes the water quality of our rivers and lakes, depletes our capacity for flood control, reduces our ability to mitigate climate change, and further impoverishes our biodiversity.
Koning and Ashworth’s stories captivate the imagination and inspire the emotional and intellectual connections we need to commit to protecting these magical and mysterious places.
Paperback; 264 pages
ISBN: 978-0226554358
About the Authors
Catherine Owen Koning, PhD, is professor of environmental science and chair of the Division of Natural Sciences at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. She has conducted research in wetland ecology, hydrology, and plant ecology in Maine, New Hampshire, California, and Wisconsin.
Sharon M. Ashworth, PhD, is an ecologist and writer based in Lawrence, Kansas. After years working in academia and for nonprofits, she now manages an Extension Master Gardener Program for Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Praise For Wading Right In: Discovering The Nature Of Wetlands…
"The importance of wetlands cannot be overstated. They play a vital carbon sequestration role in a changing climate. Coastal wetlands are also a protective bulwark between ocean and dry land and provide a haven for a huge range of resident and migratory wildlife.
The authors’ efforts to highlight these benefits and to inspire a love of—or at least a tolerance for—mud, wind, and damp, flat horizons make this book an excellent and engaging introduction to these ever-changing ecosystems."
— Science
"As demonstrated in the stories of the book, when people get to know wetlands and understand their oddity and importance, they feel an urge to conserve them. This is the function of the book.
The reader is immersed in stories and adventures of field biologists who work in wetlands and learns about the biology and complex dynamics of these unique habitats in a simple and engaging way."
— Conservation Biology
An enjoyable, inspiring, and motivating read for everyone to understand and appreciate the beauty and wonders of wetlands. . . .
The efforts Koning and Ashworth put into this book should be praised.
As a coastal wetland ecologist and educator, I have in not a few cases found it challenging to convince students to appreciate, develop a passion for, and enjoy studying highly valuable coastal wetlands that are nonetheless muddy, smelly, and ‘ugly’ in appearance.
I am going to pass along the book that I have just read and enjoyed to the students in my lab in the hope that, after reading it, they will have more fun when they wade into the muck to explore some of the wildest coastal wetlands in the coming summer."
— Current Biology