Ren Junlin, Chen Jianshe, Xu Changlin, van de Koppel Johan, Thomsen Mads S, Qiu Shiyun, Cheng Fangyan, Song Wanjuan, Liu Quan-Xing, Xu Chi, Bai Junhong, Zhang Yihui, Cui Baoshan, Bertness Mark D, Silliman Brian R, Li Bo, He Qiang
Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, National Observation and Research Station for Wetland Ecosystems of the Yangtze Estuary (Shanghai), School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai 200438, China.
Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research and Utrecht University, 4401 NT7 Yerseke, Netherlands.
Sci Adv. 2021 Oct 15;7(42):eabi8943. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abi8943. Epub 2021 Oct 13.
The world has increasingly relied on protected areas (PAs) to rescue highly valued ecosystems from human activities, but whether PAs will fare well with bioinvasions remains unknown. By analyzing three decades of seven of the largest coastal PAs in China, including World Natural Heritage and/or Wetlands of International Importance sites, we show that, although PAs are achieving success in rescuing iconic wetlands and critical shorebird habitats from once widespread reclamation, this success is counteracted by escalating plant invasions. Plant invasions were not only more extensive in PAs than non-PA controls but also undermined PA performance by, without human intervention, irreversibly replacing expansive native wetlands (primarily mudflats) and precluding successional formation of new native marshes. Exotic species are invading PAs globally. This study across large spatiotemporal scales highlights that the consequences of bioinvasions for humanity’s major conservation tool may be more profound, far reaching, and critical for management than currently recognized.
世界越来越依赖保护区（PAs）来将高价值生态系统从人类活动中拯救出来，但保护区在应对生物入侵方面能否表现良好仍不明确。通过分析中国七个最大的沿海保护区三十年的数据，这些保护区包括世界自然遗产地和/或国际重要湿地，我们发现，尽管保护区在从曾经广泛的围垦中拯救标志性湿地和关键滨鸟栖息地方面取得了成功，但这种成功却被不断升级的植物入侵所抵消。植物入侵不仅在保护区比非保护区控制区域更为广泛，而且在没有人类干预的情况下，通过不可逆转地取代广阔的原生湿地（主要是泥滩）并阻止新的原生沼泽的演替形成，损害了保护区的功能。外来物种正在全球范围内入侵保护区。这项跨越大时空尺度的研究强调，生物入侵对人类主要保护工具的影响可能比目前所认识到的更为深远、广泛且对管理至关重要。
