Extensive global wetland loss over the past three centuries
Open accessAbstract
Wetlands have long been drained for human use, thereby strongly affecting greenhouse gas fluxes, flood control, nutrient cycling and biodiversity 1,2. Nevertheless, the global extent of natural wetland loss remains remarkably uncertain 3. Here, we reconstruct the spatial distribution and timing of wetland loss through conversion to seven human land uses between 1700 and 2020, by combining national and subnational records of drainage and conversion with land-use maps and simulated wetland extents. We estimate that 3.4 million km 2 (confidence interval 2.9-3.8) of inland wetlands have been lost since 1700, primarily for conversion to croplands. This net loss of 21% (confidence interval 16-23%) of global wetland area is lower than that suggested previously by extrapolations of data disproportionately from high-loss regions. Wetland loss has been concentrated in Europe, the United States and China, and rapidly expanded during the mid-twentieth century. Our reconstruction elucidates the timing and land-use drivers of global wetland losses, providing an improved historical baseline to guide assessment of wetland loss impact on Earth system processes, conservation planning to protect remaining wetlands and prioritization of sites for wetland restoration 4.
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As ditch and irrigation networks have grown globally, their effects on natural hydrological cycles have increased; they have drained and degraded wetlands and altered water flows through ecosystems at the landscape scale and beyond.
“As ditch and irrigation networks have grown globally, so have their effects on natural hydrological cycles; they have drained and degraded wetlands 10 and altered water flows through ecosystems at the landscape scale and beyond 11 .”
From Lines in the landscape (2025) · cites this paper as [10]
Even when ditch construction creates certain beneficial ecosystem services, other ecosystem services can be lost due to associated land drainage (e.g., loss of wetlands and their carbon sink capacity) or degradation of natural stream channels (e.g., straightening of channels and removal of riparian zones which would otherwise reduce peak flows and lead to less flashy systems).
“Furthermore, even when ditch construction creates certain beneficial ecosystem services, other ecosystem services can be lost due to the associated land drainage (e.g., loss of wetlands and their carbon sink capacity 10 ) or degradation of natural stream channels (e.g., straightening of channels and removal of riparian zones which would otherwise reduce peak flows and lead to less flashy systems 1”
From Lines in the landscape (2025) · cites this paper as [10]
Globally, 21% of wetlands have been anthropogenically drained, largely via drainage ditches, resulting in a massive loss of natural wetlands.
“Globally, 21% of wetlands have been anthropogenically drained 10 , largely via drainage ditches (i.e., ditches that remove excess water from the land) (Fig. 1D, F, H), resulting in a massive loss of natural wetlands.”
From Lines in the landscape (2025) · cites this paper as [10]
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Porkka, M., Virkki, V., Wang-Erlandsson, L., Gerten, D., Gleeson, T., Mohan, C., Fetzer, I., Jaramillo, F., Staal, A., te Wierik, S., et al. (2024) · doi:10.31223/x5bp8f · Cited by 78 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Fluet-Chouinard, E., Stocker, B. D., Zhang, Z., Malhotra, A., Melton, J. R., Poulter, B., Kaplan, J. O., Goldewijk, K. K., Siebert, S., Minayeva, T., Hugelius, G., Joosten, H., Barthelmes, A., Prigent, C., Aires, F., Hoyt, A. M., Davidson, N., Finlayson, C. M., Lehner, B., Jackson, R. B., & McIntyre, P. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Bern (CH)
- Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (CA)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- University of Göttingen (DE)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- Universität Greifswald (DE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Charles Sturt University (AU)
- McGill University (CA)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- ORCID
- Fluet-Chouinard, Etienne
- Stocker, Benjamin D.
- Zhang, Zhen
- Malhotra, Avni
- Melton, Joe R.
- Poulter, Benjamin
- Kaplan, Jed O.
- Goldewijk, Kees Klein
- Siebert, Stefan
- Minayeva, Tatiana
- Hugelius, Gustaf
- Joosten, Hans
- Barthelmes, Alexandra
- Prigent, Catherine
- Aires, Filipe
- Hoyt, Alison M.
- Davidson, Nick
- Finlayson, C. Max
- Lehner, Bernhard
- Jackson, Robert B.
- McIntyre, Peter B.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 2023-02-08
- Volume
- 614
- Issue
- 7947
- Pages
- 281-286
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W4319591135
- Cited by
- 964
- References
- 63
- Citations by year
- 2026: 285 · 2025: 320 · 2024: 248 · 2023: 105 · 2022: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 116.68
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Federal Open Science Repository of Canada / Le Dépôt fédéral de science ouverte du Canada (submittedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Bern Open Repository and Information System (University of Bern) (submittedVersion)
- DORA WSL (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) (submittedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- GoeScholar The Publication Server of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1115025)
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF5439)
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (181115)
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (PGSD2-471651-2015)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Ocean Engineering › Wetland Management and Conservation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Environmental Changes in China
- Keywords
- wetland loss, wetland drainage, land use change, cropland expansion, inland wetlands, land use conversion, wetland restoration, wetland conservation, greenhouse gas fluxes, flood control, nutrient cycling, biodiversity loss, Europe, United States, China
- MeSH terms
- Natural Resources, China, Europe, Humans, United States, Biodiversity, History, 18th Century, History, 19th Century, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century, Wetlands, Spatio-Temporal Analysis
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