Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, 85287, USA.
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Sep 1;634:550-560. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.009. Epub 2018 Apr 7.
Agricultural activity is widely recognized as a leading driver of natural wetland loss in many parts of the world. However, little is known about the spatiotemporal patterns of conversion between natural wetlands and farmland in China. This information deficiency has limited decision-making for the sustainable management of natural wetland ecosystems. In this study, we explicitly quantified bidirectional natural wetland-farmland conversions during the periods of 1990-2000 and 2000-2010 at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Our results revealed that about 60% (15,765km) of China's lost natural wetlands were due to agricultural encroachment for grain production, 74.7% (11,778km) of which occurred from 1990 to 2000. Natural wetland conversion to farmland was highest in Northeast China (13,467km or 85.4%), whereas the natural wetlands in Northwest China demand extra attention because of a notable increase of agricultural encroachment. Natural wetlands in the humid zone experienced tremendous agricultural encroachment, leading to a loss of 10,649km, accounting for 67.5% of the total agriculture-induced natural wetland loss in China. On the other hand, a total of 1369km of natural wetlands were restored from farmland, with 66.3% of this restoration occurring between 2000 and 2010, primarily in Northeast China and the humid zone. Although a series of national policies and population pressure resulted in agricultural encroachment into natural wetlands, there are also policies and management measures protecting and restoring natural wetlands in China. The spatial differences in natural wetland-farmland conversions among different geographic regions and climatic zones suggest that China must develop place-based sustainable management policies and plans for natural wetlands. This study provides important scientific information necessary for developing such policies and implementation plans.
农业活动被广泛认为是世界上许多地区自然湿地丧失的主要驱动因素。然而，人们对中国自然湿地与农田之间的转换的时空模式知之甚少。这种信息的缺乏限制了对自然湿地生态系统可持续管理的决策。在这项研究中，我们明确量化了 1990-2000 年和 2000-2010 年期间多个时空尺度上自然湿地-农田的双向转换。研究结果表明，中国约 60%（15765 公里）的自然湿地丧失是由于农业开垦用于粮食生产造成的，其中 74.7%（11778 公里）发生在 1990 年至 2000 年期间。东北地区（13467 公里或 85.4%）的自然湿地向农田的转化最高，而由于农业开垦的显著增加，中国西北地区的自然湿地需要特别关注。湿润地区的自然湿地经历了巨大的农业开垦，导致 10649 公里的湿地丧失，占中国因农业导致的自然湿地总损失的 67.5%。另一方面，共有 1369 公里的自然湿地从农田中恢复，其中 66.3%的恢复发生在 2000 年至 2010 年期间，主要在东北地区和湿润地区。尽管一系列国家政策和人口压力导致农业开垦自然湿地，但中国也有保护和恢复自然湿地的政策和管理措施。不同地理区域和气候带之间自然湿地-农田转换的空间差异表明，中国必须为自然湿地制定基于地点的可持续管理政策和计划。本研究为制定这些政策和实施计划提供了必要的重要科学信息。
