Ideas in this flowchart

• Wetlands provide important ecological functions but may recover very slowly after severe disturbance.
• Wetland ecological functions
• Wetlands support diverse and often endangered plants and animals.
• Wetlands filter sediment and phosphorus.
• Wetlands remove nitrate through denitrification.
• Hydric soils accumulate large amounts of organic carbon.
• Carbon accumulation makes wetlands important for climate regulation.
• Drainage or severe disturbance can disrupt wetland functions.
• Some wetland functions may recover over decades.
• Soil organic matter and original biodiversity may take centuries or millennia to return.