Wetlands as large-scale nature-based solutions

Wetlands as Nature Based Solutions

Thorslund et al. (2017)

When does a wetland actually function?

why i chose this paper

• Wetlands are widely promoted as nature-based solutions • We often assume restoring one site improves the system • This paper challenges that assumption • It reframes wetlands as hydrologic networks, not isolated filters

how today's discussion will work:

• Each slide contains a multiple-choice question• Vote first — then we’ll discuss (2-3 short responses)• Some have correct answers, some don’t• The goal is to unpack the paper’s core argument The last 2 questions are open ended, with the biggest being the one we will talk about the most.

If most management happens at the site level, why might that be a problem?

Is this just watershed thinking rebranded — or is it actually different?

So is wetland placement more important than wetland efficiency?

What would it look like to actually manage at landscape scale?

Is the barrier scientific, political, or institutional?

Why did you choose that?

so what?

Should wetland restoration be planned and evaluated at watershed scale instead of site scale?

closing thought?

If environmental change happens at landscape scale, but we restore at site scale, are we solving the right problem?