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Impacts of Climate Change on Saskatchewan's Wetlands
Although Saskatchewan may be globally recognized for its vast expanses of fertile agricultural lands, the Southern portion of the province is situated in the heart of the prairie pothole region (PPR), an area renowned for productive wetlands. Within the PPR, Saskatchewan is estimated to have over 1.5 million wetlands covering over 1.7 million hectares. Saskatchewan Wetlands are very dynamic ecosystems, as they include a wide variety of shorebirds, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, invertebrates, and aquatic and terrestrial plants. Also, Saskatchewan provides essential habitat for millions of migrating and nesting waterfowl each year (__). In fact, the number and diversity of breeding waterfowl are directly dependent on the availability of Wetlands found throughout the Prairie Pothole Region (Weller and Spatcher, 1965). Apart from being a home to wildlife, Wetlands provide Saskatchewan residents with valuable ecosystem services, such as water quality improvement, flood control, nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration (Zedler and Kercher, 2005).

Recent data produced by Regional Climate Models have predicted that the temperature in the prairie pothole region in Saskatchewan will rise between 1.8˚C -4˚C by the year 2100 (__). Accompanying the rise in temperature, experts anticipate the prairie pothole region will experience an intensified Hydrologic cycle leading to an increase in the frequency of drought periods and torrential rains (Johnson, 2010). Unfortunately, Saskatchewan Wetlands have been identified as particularly vulnerable to these changes in climate, as many wetlands are shallow, and have high evaporation rates.

Inter-annual variation between wet and dry periods in which abundant rainfall is followed by a drought period has been a commonality in Saskatchewan Wetlands since their formation nearly 14,000 years ago(__). However, unprecedented changes in Climate expected in the Prairies have many experts concerned that Saskatchewan Wetland ecosystems will not be able tolerate the heat, and intensified Wet/Dry cycles. For example, Sorenson et al. (1998) predicted that with a doubling of carbon dioxide, the prairie pothole duck population would be cut in half by the year 2060 due to a loss of wetland habitat. It remains unknown how Wetland organisms will respond to oncoming climate change; yet, perhaps the biggest uncertainty surrounds the way Saskatchewan citizens decide to share their precious water with these vulnerable ecosystems. As the climate changes in the province of Saskatchewan, improved attention to water management may be critical to protecting Saskatchewan’s fragile Wetlands.