Forty-two chapters by international experts from a wide range ofdisciplines make The Wetlands Handbook the essential toolfor those seeking comprehensive understanding of the subject. Adeparture from more traditional treatises, this text examinesfreshwater wetland ecosystem science from the fundamentals toissues of management and policy. Introductory chapters address the scope and significance ofwetlands globally for communities, culture and biodiversity.Subsequent sections deal with processes underpinning wetlandfunctioning, how wetlands work, their uses and values for humansand nature, their sensitivity to external impacts, and how they maybe restored. The text is illustrated by numerous examples,emphasising functional and holistic approaches to wetlandmanagement, including case studies on the wise use andrehabilitation of wetlands in farmed, urban, industrial and otherdamaged environments, highlighting the long-term benefits ofmultiple use. The Wetlands Handbook will provide aninvaluable reference for researchers, managers, policy-makers andstudents of wetland sciences.

In recent years there has been growing concern about the management of wetlands, particularly in the USA and increasingly in Europe. These wetlands, ranging from a small harbour, such as Christchurch in the UK, to the large mangrove swamps of Malaysia, are natural resources which require comprehensive management. Whilst considerable research has been undertaken and documented on the management of wetland ecosystems, little emphasis has been focused on the geomorphic, hydraulic and hydrologic behaviour of wetlands and the consequent implications for practical management solutions.

Bill Streever, author of Bringing Back the Wetlands and numerous technical articles about wetland restoration and creation, worked for two years to bring together this collection of papers. Authors ranging from private landowners to government managers to scientists present regional overviews, case studies, and discussions of various issues. Regional overviews cover areas as small as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to areas as large as Australia and Africa. Case studies range from relatively small projects, such as rehabilitation of damage caused by wheel ruts in the high arctic, to much larger projects, such as attempts to rehabilitate thousands of hectares of Northern Territory wetlands in Australia. Seedbank ecology, economics, remote sensing, community involvement, the role of the wetland consulting industry, and other issues are discussed. In an effort to synthesize information from around the world, Joy Zedler presents a model that allows comparison of projects and may lead to better predictability of project outcomes. In An International Perspective on Wetland Rehabilitation, authors describe planting, engineered structures, prescribed flooding, excavation, and other rehabilitation methods, from Israel to New Zealand to the Netherlands and elsewhere. For the first time, one volume offers an impression of the magnitude and diversity of the field of wetland rehabilitation around the globe.