Abstract
Habitat loss is one of the key factors underlying the decline of many waterbird species, including Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus), a threatened species worldwide. Wetlands are the primary stopover for many waterbirds and restoration of these wetlands involves both hydrological restoration and water resource management. To protect the stopover sites of Siberian Cranes, we collected Siberian Crane stopover numbers, meteorological and hydrological data, and remote sensing data from 2008 to 2011 in Momoge National Nature Reserve, one of the largest wetlands in northeastern China. A model was developed to estimate the suitability of Siberian Crane stopover sites. According to our results, the most suitable daily water level for Siberian Cranes between 2008 and 2012 occurred in the spring of 2008 and in the Scirpus planiculmis growing season and autumn of 2010. We suggest a season-dependent water management strategy in order to provide suitable conditions at Siberian Crane stopover sites.
Highlights
Natural wetlands have become increasingly scarce worldwide due to drainage and agricultural development projects [1, 2]
When the relative daily water level is greater than 1.1 m, the water supplementation is linearly related to daily relative water level (y = 33.39x-7.90, R2 = 0.96)
The water supplementation increases with the increase in the daily water level at the beginning of water diversion
Summary
Natural wetlands have become increasingly scarce worldwide due to drainage and agricultural development projects [1, 2]. Loss of habitat is the most important factor underlying the decline of many waterbird species around world [3,4,5,6]. Appropriate ecosystem management has been initiated to protect and restore wetland habitat in both interior and coastal regions [7,8,9,10,11]. Water management strategies based on the relationship between waterbirds and wetland water level are the main method for protecting waterbirds [22, 23]. The most effective strategies for the management of water resources for many large—waders—during stopover remain poorly understood
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