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Science 25 February 2005:
Vol. 307. no. 5713, pp. 1307 - 1311
DOI: 10.1126/science.1105750
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Reports

The Restoration Potential of the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq

Curtis J. Richardson,1* Peter Reiss,2 Najah A. Hussain,3 Azzam J. Alwash,4 Douglas J. Pool5

Uncontrolled releases of Tigris and Euphrates River waters after the 2003 war have partially restored some former marsh areas in southern Iraq, but restoration is failing in others because of high soil and water salinities. Nearly 20% of the original 15,000-square-kilometer marsh area was reflooded by March 2004, but the extent of marsh restoration is unknown. High-quality water, nonsaline soils, and the densest native vegetation were found in the only remaining natural marsh, the Al-Hawizeh, located on the Iranian border. Although substantially reduced in area and under current threat of an Iranian dike, it has the potential to be a native repopulation center for the region. Rapid reestablishment, high productivity, and reproduction of native flora and fauna in reflooded former marsh areas indicate a high probability for successful restoration, provided the restored wetlands are hydraulically designed to allow sufficient flow of noncontaminated water and flushing of salts through the ecosystem.

1 Duke University Wetland Center, Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences, Duke University, Box 90333, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
2 Development Alternatives, 7250 Woodmont Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20895, USA.
3 College of Science, University of Basra, Basra, Iraq-Basrah-Garmet Ali-P.O. Box 49, Iraq.
4 Iraq Foundation, 1012 14th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20005, USA.
5 International Resources Group, 1211 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20036, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: curtr{at}duke.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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