Water Environment Assessment as an Ecological Red Line Management Tool for Marine Wetland Protection.

Yinan Zhang,Meiting Ju,Xiaoxue Ruan,Chunli Chu,Shengguo Xu,Lei Liu

doi:10.3390/ijerph14080870

Yinan Zhang, Meiting Ju + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080870

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Abstract

A ‘red line’ was established, identifying an area requiring for ecological protection in Tianjin, China. Within the protected area of the red line area, the Qilihai wetland is an important ecotope with complex ecological functions, although the ecosystem is seriously disturbed due to anthropogenic activities in the surrounding areas. This study assesses the water quality status of the Qilihai wetlands to identify the pollution sources and potential improvements based on the ecological red line policy, to improve and protect the waters of the Qilihai wetlands. An indicator system was established to assess water quality status using single factor evaluation and a comprehensive evaluation method, supported by data from 2010 to 2013. Assessment results show that not all indicators met the requirement of the Environmental Quality Standards for Surface Water (GB3838-2002) and that overall, waters in the Qilihai wetland were seriously polluted. Based on these findings we propose restrictions on all polluting anthropogenic activities in the red line area and implementation of restoration projects to improve water quality.

Highlights

Wetlands, which are natural ecosystems formed by interaction of land and water systems, with multiple ecological functions, are referred to as the “kidney of the Earth” [1]
The results show that some water quality indicators at the Qilihai Wetland Reserve do not meet the standard requirement, reflecting the low water quality overall in the wetland area
The level of water pollution is still critical, especially with regards to time series analysis nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), meaning more strict treatment methods, management and control measures are needed to reduce the level of nitrogen and phosphorus supplied by agricultural fertilizer runoff

Summary

Introduction

Wetlands, which are natural ecosystems formed by interaction of land and water systems, with multiple ecological functions, are referred to as the “kidney of the Earth” [1]. Due to the fast pace of urbanization and industrialization in China, some critical ecological and environmental problems have emerged in regions such as the Qilihai wetlands in Tianjin, China [3]. Due to the overdevelopment of wetlands due to human expansion and anthropogenic activities, biological diversity has been reduced and the ecosystem services and other functions have degenerated [5], the aquatic environment has been polluted by intensive eutrophication, and the quality of water resources has decreased [6]. Due to the identification of serious levels of aquatic pollution, it is of critical importance to improve the water quality of the degraded Qilihai wetlands using regulatory controls and restoration projects [7] and prior to the implementation of these measures, it is necessary to analyze the Qilihai wetland water quality, to provide effective scientific strategies to protect wetland areas

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