Impact Of Coastal Wetland Restoration Strategies In The Chongming Dongtan Wetlands, China: Waterbird Community Composition As An Indicator

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the success of coastal wetland restoration by quantifying the waterbird community composition at three restored sites and on one natural coastal wetland, which served as a reference site, from September 2011 to May 2012 in the Chongming Dongtan wetlands in China. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index was calculated to describe habitat diversity in the four study sites. Significant differences in habitat heterogeneity and species group diversity, richness, and waterbird density were observed in the sites, but a significant difference among three seasons was observed only in the waterbird density. Significant interactions between site and season were noted for species group diversity, richness, and waterbird density. The densities of four dominant waterbird groups exhibited significant differences in the four sites, and the density of Anatidae and Ardeidae exhibited significant differences among three seasons. Significant interactions were noted between site and season for the densities of Charadriidae, Anatidae, and Ardeidae. In conclusion, the restored coastal wetlands served as a suitable habitat for waterbirds to some extent, although not all restored wetlands were used equally by waterbirds. The restored wetlands with higher habitat heterogeneity supported a greater abundance of waterbirds. However, the same restored wetland was not used equally by waterbirds among different seasons. Multi-functional restored wetlands could be created for different seasons to attract a diverse group of waterbirds to forage and roost in the coastal wetlands of Yangtze River during their migration from Australia to Siberia.