Tag Archives: natural retention

Urban wetlands to the rescue. How can wetland restoration protect cities from drought?

Peatland in the Kicińska Struga valley in Czerwonak as an example of a wetland supporting natural water retention.

For many years, there was a perception that wetlands were a bad thing – wasteland, impractical, waterlogged land that became an obstacle to human activity. This misconception led to the drainage of a vast number of wetlands (in Poland – over 80%, which per unit area translates to over 1 million hectares!), which are crucial not only for local biodiversity but also for counteracting the effects of drought. Due to the rapid decline of wetlands since the beginning of the 20th century, an international agreement – the Ramsar Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands – was signed on February 2, 1971.

Retention in Winter: Frozen Nature and Water Storage

Retencja zimą – oszronione gałęzie drzew jako przykład magazynowania wody w przyrodzie

Winter plays a key role in water balance. It’s during this time that nature “recharges” its batteries for spring and summer. When snow and ice cover the ground, it doesn’t mean water retention is impossible. On the contrary, water is stored in many different ways during winter. However, the increasingly frequent warm, snowless winters are seriously disrupting this natural mechanism.

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