Förändring av våtmarkers areal och ekosystemtjänster i Byringe, Strängnäs kommun : En landskapsanalys på över 250 år

Wetlands have been considered throughout millenniums as valuable assets due to the ecosystem services they provide for humans. However, previous research has shown that the value of wetlands has declined over the last 150 years, in parallel to the growth of agriculture. Today, society has realized the value of ecosystem services, through increased knowledge and awareness.This study focuses on the area of Byringe, 20 km southwest of Strängnäs. The aim of this study was to identify changes of wetland areas, wetland classes and ecosystem services over time. This study compared four maps covering the area, between the years 1714 to 2013. The results show that the wetland areas have increased from their initial coverage of 6.5% up to 24.4% today. This 17.9% increase corresponds to 115.3 ha. A closer examination of this 300-year transformation showed variation among the wetland classes. Marshlands showed the largest increase of 44.3ha, followed by fen with 33.5ha and bog 7.6ha. In some areas fen had been converted to bog, which is a change in carbon storage and thus climate regulation. The lakes had developed into marshland, which has caused the disappearance of fish stocks, negatively affecting the generation of food supply. The increased marshland area has also resulted in increased carbon storage and provisioning services such as fiber material from plants and bioenergy production from trees. Furthermore, the recent transformation of agricultural land into fen has generated a loss in food production services such as crops. Instead, other services have appeared in terms of climate regulation, flood protection, increased protection against erosion, water purification and support of biodiversity.