Editing Resource depletion (section)

=== Resources in wetlands ===
{{Further information|Wetland conservation}}
Some of the world's most successful agricultural areas are wetlands that have been drained and converted to farmland for large-scale agriculture.<ref name="ncsu" /> Large-scale draining of wetlands also occurs for [[real estate development]] and [[urbanization]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation|last=Keddy|first=Paul A.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=9780521739672}}</ref> In contrast, in some cases wetlands are also flooded to be converted to recreational lakes or [[hydropower]] generation.<ref name="ncsu" /> In some countries ranchers have also moved their property onto wetlands for grazing due to the nutrient rich vegetation.<ref name=":12" /> Wetlands in Southern America also prove a fruitful resource for [[Poaching|poachers]], as animals with valuable hides such a [[jaguar]]s, [[Maned wolf|maned wolves]], [[caiman]]s, and [[snake]]s are drawn to wetlands.<ref name=":12" /> The effect of the removal of large predators is still unknown in South African wetlands.<ref name=":12" />

Humans benefit from wetlands in indirect ways as well. Wetlands act as natural water filters, when runoff from either natural or man-made processes pass through, wetlands can have a neutralizing effect.<ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/don-t-drain-the-swamp-why-wetlands-are-so-important-1.3962917|title=Don't drain the swamp! Why wetlands are so important|last=Kachur|first=Torah|date=2 February 2017|publisher=CBC|access-date=8 April 2019|archive-date=7 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607205903/https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/don-t-drain-the-swamp-why-wetlands-are-so-important-1.3962917|url-status=live}}</ref> If a wetland is in between an agricultural zone and a [[freshwater ecosystem]], fertilizer runoff will be absorbed by the wetland and used to fuel the slow processes that occur happen, by the time the water reaches the freshwater ecosystem there will not be enough fertilizer to cause destructive [[Algal bloom|algal blooms]] that poison freshwater ecosystems.<ref name=":13" />
[[File:Bramiana Wetlands Ierapetra.JPG|thumb|Bramiana Wetlands]]