Wetlands in drylands are dynamic landforms and hotspots of ecosystem service provision, including downstream improvements in water quality by mediating fluxes of sediment, nutrients and toxicants. This review focuses on fluvially associated wetlands including valley-bottom (also called upland swamps and cienegas) and meandering river floodplain wetlands in drylands and specifically considers the long-term resilience of ecosystem services associated with sediment trapping in these systems. We critically evaluate global rates of sediment accretion within wetlands, consider sediment trapping and erosion dynamics and the biogeochemical cycling of phosphate, and reflect on the implications of dryland environments for sediment trapping and phosphorous removal services. Reported rates of accretion in valley-bottom wetlands are variable and low when compared to floodplains. Clastic-dominated valley-bottom wetlands have lower long-term vertical sediment accretion rates compared to systems characterised by peat accumulation. While floodplain systems exhibit a wide range of vertical accretion rates, dryland floodplains have a lower and more narrow range of accumulation rates compared to humid regions, which may be attributed to seasonality and inter-annual variability in flow-sediment regimes. The periodic desiccation of wetland sediments in dryland settings will likely amplify phosphorus (P) cycling and retention due to oxidation and precipitating cationic complexes. Organic P retention is potentially less important in these systems as rapid losses and speciation will occur due to low organic matter preservation. In valley-bottom and floodplain wetlands, storage of phosphate-rich sediment cannot be considered permanent due to sediment reworking and may become sources of P-enriched legacy sediment in the future. The review indicates that complex temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of characteristic hydrogeomorphic processes in these wetlands preclude the generalisation of sediment trapping and P removal services.