Wetlands on the Ionian islands support a variety of fauna, flora and habitats. They play an important role in influencing the shape and stability of the shoreline, regulating dissolved oxygen, and filtering suspended matter. They can also enhance biodiversity by providing a physical refuge from predation and serve as nursery and feeding habitats for a variety of organisms.
Wetlands support a range of ecosystem services that are highly valued by society, including fisheries productivity, storm protection, tourism, and act as a “water barrier” preventing the salinization of the aquifers. They also store and provide fresh water for irrigation and water supply and protect the coastal area from erosion. Wetlands protect against phenomena such as floods and droughts, serve as important natural carbon sinks, and drive sustainable growth.
However, wetlands are threatened by both climate change and direct human disturbances. Urban development, the insufficiency of environmental protection mechanisms, and the ignorance of competent authorities and citizens regarding the value of these ecosystems, have resulted in their degradation through land reclamation and filling, buildings and roads construction, and the restriction or deprivation of water that otherwise would have ended up in wetlands.
In addition, environmental pollution of nutrients from urban stormwater and horticultural activities can lead to water quality problems such as blue-green algal (cyanobacterial) blooms and increased numbers of midges and mosquitoes, which can reach nuisance levels. Runoff and drainage water which pass through such wetlands are essentially filtered. However, the capacity of a wetland to trap pollutants is not infinite. This natural capacity needs to be monitored to ensure the maintenance of good water quality in the wetland to protect ecosystem functioning and services within the wetland itself.
From this point of view, it is of great importance to establish an environmental management approach to monitor ecosystem conditions (in terms of functioning, extent, services and landscape characteristics) of these unique habitats. This environmental management approach can process vast datasets from satellite imagery, sensors, and historical records to track changes in biodiversity, water quality, and atmospheric conditions. This enhances decision-making processes and aids in the efficient allocation of resources (human and monetary) for conservation efforts, making environmental protection more proactive and targeted. However, field work, data collection and analysis are crucial to understanding how the wetlands’ environment responds to climatic changes through the ages. In this review we are presenting the tools used and processes needed to achieve the environmental protection and management of the Ionian islands’ wetlands, in terms of physical and anthropogenic threats.
