LAND MARINE ATMOSPHERE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CLIMATE CHANGE SECURITY

ISSUE 55 / NOVEMBER 2015

Wetlands - unexpected Facts

> The annual value of treasures the ecosystem services provided by global wetlands is estimated at several billion Euro > Wetlands cover at least 6% of Earth’s surface > Wetlands store an estimated 300 to 700 billion tons of carbon – roughly equivalent to the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere > Some 60% of wetlands worldwide, and up to 90% in Europe, have been destroyed in the past 100 years HOW COPERNICUS SUPPORTS WETLAND PROTECTION

Wetlands include swamps and marshes, lakes and rivers, wet grasslands and peatlands, deltas and tidal flats, near-shore marine areas as well as mangroves. They are some of the planet’s most productive ecosystems providing food and water, controlling floods, protecting against consequences of storms and supporting biodiversity. Still not so well known is their potential to sequester greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, thereby storing significant amounts of carbon within their soils. According to the Benefits European Commission, wetlands account for as much as 40% of the global reserve of terrestrial carbon, making an important contribution to combating climate change. Experts thus call for wetlands to be > Wetland mapping and officially designated as eligible carbon sinks when allotting carbon credits in global climate treaties. monitoring over vast and This would help keep these precious ecosystems intact and also mitigate climate change. Consistent remote areas mapping and monitoring of global wetland areas should therefore be a top priority in the upcoming > Accurate monitoring of years. seasonal and permanent changes in wetlands Copernicus satellites support the inventoring and monitoring of wetland ecosystems. Satellites can provide detailed information on local topography, types of wetland vegetation and surrounding land cover, and the dynamics of the local water cycle. A single satellite image can cover a wetland’s entire catchment area – the surrounding landscape that drains into a wetland. Furthermore, radar imagery is able to differentiate between dry and waterlogged Policy Objectives surfaces, and can deliver multi-temporal data showing how wetlands change across seasons > The Ramsar Convention and years. The use of satellite data together with > The Habitats Directive geospatial analysis has proven to be a key tool and > UN-REDD Programme a unique information source to support wetlands > Kyoto Protocol conservation and management.

This radar image shows the Danube Delta, Europe’s best preserved river delta. It is a composite, made up of images acquired on 19 July, 23 August and 27 September 2010. Source: ESA; Based on: Envisat ASAR www.esa.int/copernicus • www.copernicus.eu ISSUE 55 / NOVEMBER 2015

Sentinel-1 WETLAND MAPPING AND MONITORING FROM SPACE

SUDD WETLAND

Sentinel-1 will support long-term observations for systematic and global wetland monitoring by providing:

MOUNTAIN NILE > accurate and timely information on a variety of surface water parameters > global coverage > all-weather, day-and-night, cloud-free imagery Dry > ground resolution of 5 x 20 m > frequent revisit time Permanent water bodies Inundated Wetlands

The maps show the Sudd wetland in South Sudan, Africa, a unique and highly diverse ecosystem, designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2006. Raw Sentinel-1 radar data (left) and derived soil moisture indicating inundated wetland areas (middle) were used as input for composite maps of wetland seasonal extent and permanent water bodies (right). The characterisation and seasonal dynamics of the wetland water cycle regime are important for water management and wetland conservation alike. Source: GeoVille/ESA Water Observation and Information System; Based on: Sentinel-1

Sentinel-2 can be used as a complementary data source Copernicus Contribution Next Steps for wetland mapping and monitoring.

The Copernicus Land Monitoring > Develop a global wetland information Service uses satellite data to provide service based on Earth observation data detailed information on wetland extent, to support conservation efforts type and changes. This supports effective > Extend satellite-based wetland management of wetlands and wise use of monitoring to local scales associated global resources.

Products > Wetland delineation > Wetland type characterisation > Wetland seasonality > Land cover around wetland areas > Local water cycle information

Dried-up peatbog

www.esa.int/copernicus • www.copernicus.eu