REGULATED RIVERS: RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT

Regul. Ri�ers: Res. Mgmt. 17: 295 (2001)

BOOK REVIEW

WETLANDS (3rd edn) by W.J. Mitsch and J.G.Gosselink. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2000.No. of pages: 920. Price: £60.95. ISBN 0 47129232 X.

This book has long provided an invaluable sourceof reference on wetlands since the first editionappeared in 1986. Succeeding editions, at 7-yearintervals, document the changes and advances inwetland research, and the third edition of thishighly successful book manages to set new stan-dards in presentation and content to confirm itsplace as the first point of reference for thoseworking or studying wetlands. The first, immedi-ately notable feature of the new edition is the highquality of new and redrawn figures and the largerformat of the book that further improves theclarity of the illustrations. Although written bytwo wetland ecologists, ‘Wetlands’ has much thatis useful for anyone interested in wetlands. Itillustrates how wetland research is becoming in-creasingly multi-disciplinary—not merely from ascientific perspective, but also legal, with respectto wetland definitions, and economic, quantifyingtangible benefits that accrue from wetlands. In-evitably, the majority of this book is based uponNorth American work. However, the coveragehas been expanded from the previous edition: anew chapter looking at ‘Wetlands of the World’describes the global extent of wetlands and cur-rent rates of loss. This serves to highlight thegeographical disparity in wetland research and inthe social and political recognitions given to wet-land values, illustrated in the geographical distri-bution of designated RAMSAR wetlands.

It is interesting to compare areas in whichfactual or contextual changes have been intro-duced, compared with the second edition. Esti-mates of the extent of Alaskan wetlands haveincreased by 2 million ha to a total of 71 million

ha. There is evidently also a better understandingof decomposition and secondary production intidal salt marshes, for example. However, thegreatest changes in this edition come later in thebook with new chapters on treatment wetlands, anew section looking at the potential effects ofclimate change, and a separate chapter on wetlandlaws and protection, albeit largely focused uponthe United States. There have also evidently beena number of advances in the field of wetlandrestoration. This is illustrated by the case of theriparian forest of the lower Mississippi where78000 ha were restored over the period 1988–1997, although unfortunately this remains a verysmall proportion of the original habitat. Casestudies including the Florida Everglades and theLouisiana Delta illustrate the scope and potentialof current restoration projects. The practicalitiesof constructing treatment wetlands are now con-sidered in a separate and expanded chapter, illus-trating the growing interest in using wetlands toremove nutrients, sediments, organic carbon, andheavy metals, although it would have been inter-esting to discuss in more detail the impact ofpesticides on wetlands.

In summary, ‘Wetlands’ successfully combinesthe best elements of an undergraduate or post-graduate text book with that of a reference textfor the wetland professional. This book has beenfurther improved and updated in this latest edi-tion, with substantive changes that further con-firm ‘Wetlands’ as the most comprehensive bookon the subject.

CHRIS BRADLEYSchool of Geography and En�ironmental Sciences,

Uni�ersity of Birmingham, UK

DOI: 10.1002/rrr.637

Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.