Review of Rapid Transformation of Floodplain Wetlands in Northeast China: Roles of Human Development and Global Environmental Change

Abstract

Northeast China is the region with the largest area of wetlands in China. The Sanjiang Plain and the Songnen Plain are large freshwater marsh distribution regions that are affected by climate warming and by the increasing frequency and density of extreme weather and are the regions most subject to disturbances by human activities in Northeast China. The wetlands of the Sanjiang Plain and the Songnen Plain have shrunk severely in the past 60 years, and wetland functions have been reduced substantially because of climate change, unreasonable land use, fire episodes, engineering and construction works and urbanization. Large-scale agricultural development started in the 1950s has been the most important driving factor for wetland loss and degradation in the Sanjiang Plain. Water shortage has been the most important factor for degradation and fragmentation of wetlands in the Songnen Plain. To mitigate wetland degradation and better protect wetlands, special regulations, long-term mechanisms and technical support of wetland protection should be established. A wetland compensation program should be implemented, and technologies for increasing the adaptive capacity of wetlands should be developed. Moreover, it is most important to find the balanced threshold between agricultural development and wetland protection.