Abstract
Being one of the most important habitats for waterbirds, China’s West Songnen Plain has experienced substantial damage to its ecosystem, especially the loss and degradation of wetlands and grasslands due to anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. These occurrences have led to an obvious decrease in waterbird species and overall population size. Periodic and timely monitoring of changes in habitat suitability and understanding the potential driving factors for waterbirds are essential for maintaining regional ecological security. In this study, land cover changes from 2000 to 2015 in this eco-sensitive plain were examined using Landsat images and an object-based classification method. Four groups of environmental factors, including human disturbance, water situation, food availability, and shelter safety, characterized by remote sensing data were selected to develop a habitat suitability index (HSI) for assessing habitat suitability for waterbirds. HSI was further classified into four grades (optimum, good, general, and poor), and their spatiotemporal patterns were documented from 2000 to 2015. Our results revealed that cropland expansion and wetland shrinkage were the dominant land cover changes. Waterbird habitat areas in the optimum grade experienced a sharp decline by 7195 km2. The habitat area in good suitability experienced reduction at a change rate of −8.64%, from 38,672 km2 to 35,331 km2. In addition, waterbird habitats in the general and poor grades increased overall by 10.31%. More specifically, the total habitat areas with optimum suitable grade, in five national nature reserves over the study region, decreased by 12.21%, while habitat areas with poor suitable grade increased by 3.89%. Changes in habitat suitability could be largely attributed to the increase in human disturbance, including agricultural cultivation from wetlands and grasslands and the expansion of built-up lands. Our findings indicate that additional attention should be directed towards reducing human impact on habitat suitability for sustainable ecosystems.
Highlights
Waterbirds represent sensitive indicators of ecosystem change and are symbolic ecological assets in wetlands [1]
In order to assess the impact of human disturbances on habitat suitability for waterbirds, road, settlement, and industrial land density maps were calculated using the spatial analysis function of ArcGIS software, where high densities were equivalent to severe human disturbance
Habitat suitability for waterbirds is impacted by land cover type
Summary
Waterbirds represent sensitive indicators of ecosystem change and are symbolic ecological assets in wetlands [1]. A habitat provides an important place for waterbirds to rest, forage, nest, breed, and defend from natural enemies [2]. Intensive human activities and global climate change have deeply affected waterbirds’ biodiversity and their habitats, mainly by altering the ecosystem’s structure over the past decades [3,4,5]. Many species have experienced population decline—even extinction—and the number of waterbirds in the wild has drastically decreased owing to habitat degradation and fragmentation caused by these changes [6]. Habitat suitability assessment is critical for habitat management and waterbirds protection [8]. Understanding waterbird habitat requirements, determining the factors that alter habitat suitability, and managing their remaining habitats, are becoming increasingly important
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