Analysis of the characteristics and evaluation of ecological functions of local wetlands distributed in Chungcheongnam-do, Rep. of Korea

Local wetlands such as APW provide ecosystem service benefits to local residents, and as a nature-based carbon sink, they play a key role in improving local resilience and adapting to climate change. This study was conducted to evaluate function of local wetlands that are ecologically important, but are damaged in blind spots of management, and to reveal differences by ecological area and function through functional evaluation. Functional scores for each of the eight evaluation items were compared by dividing them into 3 catchments according to the watershed system and topography using modified ‘RAM’. As a result of the evaluation, the overall average function of 399 priority wetlands was 1.96/3.0, which was medium-level, and among the eight evaluation items, AESREC, Habitat, and AQHAB function were high. In detail it was confirmed in order of AESREC, Habitat, AQHAB, WQUAL, RUNOFF, SHPRO, GWATER and FSTOR. The average function for each catchment were in order of 02GG, 01SAM, 03WS.