Use Of Wetland Resources Research Articles

Wetland Changes and Ecosystem Services Valuation of Kapla Beel in Assam

Background: Wetlands are productive ecosystem with immense potentiality of providing various goods and services. But they are fast depleting due to various natural and anthropogenic causes. Kapla beel is a freshwater wetland located in Barpeta district in the lower Brahmaputra valley of Assam. Area of the Kapla beel has been decreasing over the years. This study shall make an attempt to analyse the causes of land use and land cover changes of Kapla beel of Assam and assess its ecosystem services value changes during the period 1990 to 2022. Methods: To assess the changes, two Landsat images for the year 1990 and 2022 of Kapla beel were taken from the United State Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Explorer. Land-use change analysis was assessed by comparing the areas occupied by each land use in each period using the ArcGIS software. The dynamicity index is used to calculate the rate of change in land cover. In order to assess the changes in the wetland ecosystem service value due to wetland changes, Benefit Transfer Method is used which involves transferring monetary values of ecosystem services from previous studies. Result: The valuation of ecosystem services underlines the fact that wetlands are highly productive and economically viable ecosystems. Accounting of ecosystem services provides information about the need for optimal decision -making towards judicious use of wetland resources for their sustenance.

Household Food Security through Wetland Resources with Adaptation to Climate Change: An Empirical Analysis of Ranikor, Meghalaya, India

Wetland ecosystems are the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth and include marshes, lakes, rivers, flood basins, estuarine deltas, ponds, rice fields, and marine water areas where the depth at low tide does not exceed 6 m. Tangible and intangible diverse resources and products of wetland functions have historically provided a source of income and livelihood for human beings. The present study investigated the different causes and the perceived indicators of food insecurity among the wetland dwellers, determined the wetland contribution to household food security and assessed the determinants of wetland based income with a view on the adaptive strategies adopted by the households residing around Ranikor, Meghalaya. Data was collected from 70 wetland resource-user households which was analyzed using simple percentage, t-test, regression analysis and Garrett ranking technique. The wetland resources contributed significantly to the household food security in the study area. It was found that climate change and limited labour were the major causes of food insecurity. Factors like household size, agricultural land area and age of the respondent determined the extraction of resources. Moreover, the study revealed crop diversification, re-digging of canal, construction of embankments and poultry rearing as the adaptive measures in the face of climate change having merits. The study recommends the need to design appropriate food production technologies that ensure sustainable use of wetland resources for food security as increasing population coupled with climate change will have drastic impact on the households relying on wetland for food security and income.

Wetland mapping in East Asia by two-stage object-based Random Forest and hierarchical decision tree algorithms on Sentinel-1/2 images

Accurate information on wetland extent in East Asia is essential to assess progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the use of wetland resources, where wetlands benefit a quarter of the world's population and millions of wild birds in over three global migratory corridors. In this study, using 122,128 Sentinel-1 and 89,752 Sentinel-2 images acquired in 2021 available on the Google Earth Engine platform, we developed a novel two-stage classification for continental-scale wetland mapping and generated the first and up-to-date 10-m resolution wetland map of East Asia. Such a two-stage classification method, which integrates automatic sample generation and spatiotemporal features, combined an initial object-based random forest classifier with a subsequent hierarchical decision tree for secondary waterbody types. The resulting comprehensive map with 3 broad categories and 12 sub-categories in East Asia, named EA_Wetlands, achieved over 88% overall accuracy. According to EA_Wetlands, the total wetland area in this region is 481,802.49 km2, mainly distributed in Northeast China and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (41.02%). Of all wetlands in East Asia, about 68.26% are inland wetlands. The highest proportion (29.67%) is identified for inland marsh among 12 sub-categories. Among five countries, China has >88% of the total wetland resources in East Asia, followed by Mongolia (3.57%). South Korea has the largest ratio between wetland and national land areas (10.43%). EA_Wetlands, as the first 10-m resolution wetland data product, will have great applications and benefit wetland conservation and policy management. It will be a critical support for evaluating the implementation of wetland-related international conventions at country and continental scale in East Asia.

Socio-economic impacts of wetland conversion on residents of Port Harcourt municipality, Rivers State, Nigeria

Increased demand for land space in most urban areas often triggers the conversion of wetlands resulting in their total disappearance with attendant implications on man’s survival. This study examined the socio-economic impacts of wetland conversion on residents of Port Harcourt municipality. Data were sourced from both primary and secondary sources. Four (4) out of the twenty-four (24) reclaimed wetland sites were purposively selected for the study. The cross-sectional research design was used since there was no manipulation of the variables under investigation. A sample size comprised 280 heads of households from the eight proximate communities within the four selected reclaimed sites. The study revealed that wetland conversions have both positive impacts on residents of the study area. On a positive note, wetland conversion is a means of increasing land space for needed physical development and the provision of urban goods and services. The negative impacts of wetland conversion include the destruction of sources of livelihood for the people, the destruction of natural heritage and aesthetic areas and the destruction of conservation areas among others. The study advocates for the adoption of a sustainable wetland management strategy with an emphasis on the wise use of wetland resources to ensure the continued existence of wetlands in their pristine state, as this is the only way we can preserve the services that wetland provides to the survival of the human environment.

Contribution of floodplain wetland (beel) fisheries to livelihood and nutritional security of fishers in Eastern India

The floodplain wetlands or the oxbow lakes support millions of rural poor for earning their livelihood and nutritionalsecurity. The present study was conducted among the fisher households in two floodplain wetlands (locally known asbeel) of West Bengal (Kholsi and Akaipur) and one in Assam (Deepor). One hundred fisher households from West Bengaland 80 fisher households from Assam were selected using simple random sampling method. The study indicated that thesocio-economic conditions of the fisher households based on the level of education, operational holdings and off farmincome were well below the desired level. Fishing was the major occupation of around 70% of the fishers of West Bengaland 90% of fishers of Assam. The fishery contributed more than 60% of the household income to 42% fishers of West Bengaland 90% of fishers of Assam. In Deepor Beel it was found that no fisher household received less than 40% of their livelihoodfrom the beel. Further, the study showed that beel fishes were the only source of animal protein to more than 71% of thehouseholds of Deepor Beel. Similarly, more than 68% of households in West Bengal beels obtained animal proteins throughfishes caught in the beel itself. For sustainable use of wetland resources and to ensure livelihood and food security, there isa need to design appropriate management strategies. Arrangement of supplementary livelihood options was prescribed forthe fishers to reduce the fishing pressure on the wetlands. Keywords: Animal protein, Assam, Fishers, Floodplain wetlands, Livelihood, West Bengal

Lakescape connectivity: Mobile fish consumers link Lake Michigan coastal wetland and nearshore food webs

AbstractIn large lake ecosystems, fish movement between coastal littoral habitats such as wetlands and the adjacent open‐water nearshore represents an understudied but potentially important linkage supporting energy flow and fisheries production. We hypothesized that yellow perch (Perca flavescens), an ecologically and economically important sport fish in the Laurentian Great Lakes, transport energy from highly productive wetlands to nearshore food webs, but that their role changes with ontogenetic shifts in diet and habitat use. We also predicted that the relative strength of such fish‐mediated habitat linkages would vary depending on physical connectivity across habitats. We collected perch and potential prey resources from seven paired coastal wetland–nearshore sites across three regions of Lake Michigan and quantified resource and habitat use with Bayesian stable isotope mixing models and otolith microchemistry. We found that juvenile perch collected in nearshore habitats showed high use of wetland resources, and that diets of wetland‐collected juveniles typically contained a smaller proportion of nearshore resources than did more mobile adults from the same wetland. The least hydrologically connected sites had lower cross‐habitat resource use (e.g., wetland‐collected perch consumed fewer nearshore resources and vice versa) compared with sites with greater levels of hydrological connectivity. Otolith microchemistry confirmed the linkages revealed by stable isotopes, suggesting that a dual approach can increase understanding of habitat linkages in large lakes. Quantifying the importance of multiple lentic habitats (i.e., “lakescape connectivity”) for fisheries production is critical for developing comprehensive large lake food web models and providing managers with information to prioritize locations for conservation and restoration.

Freshwater wetland–driven variation in sulfur isotope compositions: Implications for human paleodiet and ecological research

Sulfur isotope (δ34S) analyses are an important archaeological and ecological tool for understanding human and animal migration and diet, but δ34S can be difficult to interpret, particularly in archaeological human-mobility studies, when measured isotope compositions are strongly 34S-depleted relative to regional baselines. Sulfides, which accumulate under anoxic conditions and have distinctively low δ34S, are potentially key for understanding this but are often overlooked in studies of vertebrate δ34S. We analyze an ecologically wide range of archaeological taxa to build an interpretive framework for understanding the impact of sulfide-influenced δ34S on vertebrate consumers. Results provide the first demonstration that δ34S of higher-level consumers can be heavily impacted by freshwater wetland resource use. This source of δ34S variation is significant because it is linked to a globally distributed habitat and occurs at the bottom of the δ34S spectrum, which, for archaeologists, is primarily used for assessing human mobility. Our findings have significant implications for rethinking traditional interpretive frameworks of human mobility and diet, and for exploring the historical ecology of past freshwater wetland ecosystems. Given the tremendous importance of wetlands’ ecosystem services today, such insights on the structure and human dynamics of past wetlands could be valuable for guiding restoration work.

Analysis of long-term wetland variations in China using land use/land cover dataset derived from Landsat images

Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth and play an important role in maintaining ecological balance and regulating climate. In this paper, 30 m resolution land use/land cover (LULC) data (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020) were employed to analyze the characteristics of spatial and temporal changes in the distribution of wetlands in China and their evolution patterns in the last two decades. The results indicated that the total area of wetlands in China showed an increasing trend during 2000–2020. During the study period, provinces with more increase in wetland area were concentrated in Qinghai Province, Tibet Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. And the provinces with more reduction in wetland area were mainly in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The analysis of wetland change driving mechanism by introducing PLS-SEM model and GWR model found that good climate conditions as well as agricultural and economic conditions are favorable for wetland conservation in 2000–2020, while accelerated urbanization and population growth showed negative effects on wetland change. The spatial distribution pattern of wetland and NPP (Net Primary Production) changes showed spatial consistency in the extent of NPP changes and wetland transfer. The results of this study are intended to provide a basis for wetland conservation, rational use of wetland resources and scientific restoration in China.

Evaluating the contribution of wetlands to food security and livelihoods improvement in the Savelugu Municipality, Ghana

The study was conducted on three wetlands and four fringe communities in the Savelugu Municipality in Ghana’s Northern Region. The study evaluated the importance of wetlands to food security and livelihoods in the Savelugu Municipality using primary and secondary data sources. The contingent valuation method was used to determine respondents’ value of wetlands, whereas Kendall’s Coefficient was used to identify the factors influencing the reliance or utilisation of wetlands. The study results showed that wetlands were critical resources in study communities and contributed to people's livelihoods and food security and determined the kinds of livelihoods that existed in these communities. Out of the 79% of respondents (that is, 237 out of 300 respondents) who considered their households to be food secured, 73% of them attributed their food secured households to their reliance and use of wetland resources. Fertile soil for agriculture and tree nursery development, fish for consumption and income generation from the sales of wetland related products were the key contributions of wetlands to respondents’ food security. Furthermore, the study established that despite the potential contributions of these ecosystems to the people’s overall development, the wetlands are yet to be accorded the needed recognition as valuable resources by policymakers at the community and district levels. The disregard of wetland ecosystems by authorities, and as a consequence, the lack of attention/clear-cut regulations on their use, lead to overexploitation and degradation. It was observed in Bunglung and Nabogu wetlands that siltation is adversely affecting the capacity of the wetlands to provide their functions and services. The situation requires the attention of the Savelugu Municipal Assembly to dredge the silted wetlands. Key among the factors influencing wetland dependence and utilisation were climate change, soil fertility of wetlands and household income levels. Inhabitants’ activities such as obsolete fishing tools and farming practices, channelisation and indiscriminate waste disposal were identified to be detrimental to the wetlands’ sustainability.

Wetland Resource Use and Conservation Attitudes of Rural vs. Urban Dwellers: A Comparative Analysis in Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Although wetlands provide a variety of goods and services to people and ecosystems, they are the most threatened ecosystem in the world because they are easily degraded. Thus, efforts to protect the remaining wetlands are critical if this resource is to continue providing environmental, cultural, and economic goods and services. Central to the conservation and management of wetlands is understanding the attitudes of the people bordering wetlands. This study aimed to analyse wetland resource use and conservation attitudes of urban vs. rural dwellers of Thohoyandou, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Interview-administered questionnaires and observation were the methods used for data collection. Systematic random sampling was used to obtain a sample of 282 in urban and 312 households in rural areas. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages) were used to summarize the data. Chi-square (χ2) tests were applied using Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, WA, USA) in order to determine whether responses occurred with equal probability. Differences were considered to be significant at p ≤ 0.05. The study found that wetlands are more important in the lives and livelihoods of people in rural areas (92.9%) compared with urban areas (26.6%) of Thohoyandou. Human land use activities in wetlands (especially cultivation and infrastructural development) have degraded and destroyed wetlands—particularly those located in urban areas. The attitudes of respondents were generally positive both in urban and rural areas regarding the need for conservation and rehabilitation/restoration of wetlands. The study concluded that positive attitudes alone are insufficient to save and protect the wetlands. The responsible authorities should implement existing legislation to complement the positive attitudes of people and, importantly, they should work with communities towards the conservation of wetlands.

Wetlands in China: Evolution, Carbon Sequestrations and Services, Threats, and Preservation/Restoration

China has a wetland area of 53.42 million hectares, the fourth largest in the world; it includes all types of wetlands defined by the Ramsar Convention and has a carbon sink capacity of more than 1.71 million metric tons per year. Inland wetlands in China are mainly distributed in 10 major catchments, among which the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, the rivers in the northwest, and the rivers in the northeast each have more than 8 million hectares of wetlands. There are 4220 species of plants and 4015 species of animals in China’s wetland ecosystem. The wetland resources that have been developed and utilized include edible products, reeds for paper making, peat for fertilizer, fuel for power generation, and chemical, pharmaceutical, ceramic, and building materials. However, wetland areas in China have shrunk by about 54% since 1980. In recent years, China’s central government has set great store by Chinese wetlands, and although 49.03% of wetland area is now officially protected, many issues have confounded the implementation of that protection. It is imperative that knowledge gained from scientific research be used to formulate a sound wetland protection and management plan that takes into consideration social, economic, and ecological issues in a way that facilitates the sustainable use of wetland resources and informs decision-makers of the paths that must be followed to achieve that goal.

Spatial change detections and inventory of wetlands in Yenagoa Urban Area: Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Yenegoa Town has in recent years witnessed rapid City growth and Urban development and much of these developments are unplanned and unregulated. This has seriously impacted on wetlands in several locations of the town as persistent Wetlands reclamations are being witnessed in study area. This prompted the need for the study which is aimed to map wetlands location in Yenagoa’s urban area using GIS and Remote Sensing approach. The study analyzes land use/land cover changes (LULC) using LANDSAT(5) TM, LANDSAT(5) ETM and LANDSAT(7) OLI satellite imageries of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 respectively. Through this study, the pattern of urban expansion for Thirty years were been studied. The satellite imageries covering the area were acquired and analyzed using ArcGIS 10.1 and ENVI 5.0 software. The supervised image classification method was adopted and the classification results were validated using the Kappa Index of Agreement (KIA) yielding an accuracy of 0.69m for year 1990, 0.62m for year 2000, 0.58m for year 2010 and 0.73m for 2020. A total area of 13,741.4 hectares was delineated in the study area which is identified as Yenagoa’s urban area. After processing the imageries, four land use/land cover (LULC) classes where considered, and the results shows that Built-up area continuously increased in land area from 1990 -2020 with total percentage change of 273.31% (4,178.7ha) and total annual rate of change of 25.33. Vegetation have total percentage change of 38.55% (974.34Ha) and total annual rate of change of 3.85, wetland cover loss with total percentage Change of 61.96% (-51,44.99ha) and total annual rate of change of -6.19ha, and the water body have loss of total percentage of -2.16% (-8.05Ha) and total annual rate of change of -0.22ha wetland at Yenegwe loss by Total %change of -29.918% ( -197.95ha), and wetland at Igbogene loss by total percentage change of -36.028% (-358.7ha). The research findings also revealed that the wetlands in Anyama, Swali, Kpansia and Opolo Towns were completely lost from the third Epoch of 2010, this may be as a result of persistence reclamation of wetland in this parts of the study area. The Markov Chain predicted model were utilized for predicting the likely changes in land use land cover for a period of thirty years. The predicted results also indicates that wetland size of 32.47,%, 30.68% and 28.99% may likely be lost by the year 2030, 2040 and 2050 respectively in study area if no action is taking by concerned authorities to forestall the factors responsible for the lost in wetland. The study justified the dynamics of remote sensing and GIS techniques in modeling wetlands changees over these periods, wise use of wetland resources and improvement of institutional arrangement were recommended so that wetland policies can be fully integrated into the planning process across all disciplines.

Anthropogenic effect on wetland biodiversity in Lake Tana Region: A case of Infranz Wetland, Northwestern Ethiopia

This study evaluates the effect of anthropogenic activities on Infranz Wetland biodiversity in Lake Tana area. Plant biodiversity data were collected from quadrants that were established in transect lines and macroinvertebrates were collected using 500 μm mesh size. A survey with 386 households, four focus group discussions and 24 key informant interviews were conducted to capture socioeconomic data. Shannon-Wiener diversity index, species percentage distribution and dominance, regeneration status and ecological importance index were computed to evaluate the plant and macroinvertebrates condition. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey data and qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The results of the biodiversity data showed ecological degradation of the study wetland. Though woody plants had rich (3.08) species diversity, more than 30% of species were represented only by four families which reflects overharvesting of the desired woody plant species. The non-ecological importance of 81.5% floristic plant species and the dominance of few macroinvertabrates such as tolerant taxa, predators and scrapers also implied the existence of habitat degradation. Furthermore, the dominance of emergent macrophytes implied the biodiversity loss of the wetland. Extraction of more than 15 billion cubic meter water for public water supply and khat irrigation, farmland expansion, eucalyptus plantation within the wetland, overgrazing and, overuse of papyrus were the principal factors for the wetland degradation and consequent loss of its biodiversity. Efforts have not been made to regulate the use of wetland resources. Thus, local governments should establish bylaws for sustainable use of the wetland.

Wetlands in Poland and Russia: The Legal Framework for Their Protection and Use

The authors explore the ecological value of wetlands, the notion that laid the foundation of the Ramsar Convention and boosted the development of national legislation for the protection of these ecosystems in many countries. The authors analyzed the main instruments of wetland protection, set out in the Ramsar Convention, and investigated the effect of the Convention on the development of legislation in Poland and Russia. The authors showed that wetlands can be located both within the boundaries of specially protected natural zones and beyond them, which complicates their legal protection. The development and introduction of a new legal concept of semiprotected areas can be a solution to this problem. Semiprotected areas have a less stringent regime compared to nature reserves or national parks. At the same time, they effectively limit economic and other types of activities posing a threat to wetlands. This design of legal protection provides new opportunities for the rational use of wetland resources.

A New Conceptual Framework for Integrating Earth Observation in Large-scale Wetland Management in East Africa

Wetlands are abundant across the African continent and provide a range of ecosystem services on different scales but are threatened by overuse and degradation. It is essential that national governments enable and ensure the sustainable use of wetland resources to maintain these services in the long run. As informed management decisions require reliable, up-to-date, and large coverage spatial data, we propose a modular Earth observation-based framework for the geo-localisation and characterization of wetlands in East Africa. In this study, we identify four major challenges in spatial data supported wetland management and present a framework to address them. We then apply the framework comprising Wetland Delineation, Surface Water Occurrence, Land Use/Land Cover classification and Wetland Use Intensity for the whole of Rwanda and evaluate the ability of these layers to meet the identified challenges. The layers’ spatial and temporal characteristics make them combinable and the information content, of each layer alone as well as in combination, renders them useful for different wetland management contexts.

Research on ecological design of Junhe Wetland Park in Pingyi County, Linyi, Shandong Province

With the development of cities, wetlands are gradually being eroded. How to restore its natural state and make rational use of wetland resources is the top priority for the construction of wetland parks. Riverine wetland is the most common type of wetland to build an ecological structure. Only by restoring the wet ecology at the intersection between the river and the city can human and nature live in harmony. This article takes the Junhe Wetland Park as an example to study how to design the river wetland park with ecological methods, focusing on the ecological functions of the revetment and vegetation design, and create a wetland ecological landscape.

Hotspots of land use/land cover change around Bolgoda wetland, Sri Lanka

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Urban wetlands are increasingly affected by population growth and developmental activities. A buffer region of 60 m from the Bolgoda lake boundary was gazetted as an Environmental Protection Area (EPA) by the Central Environmental Authority in 2009 as it is the largest freshwater wetland in Sri Lanka. This study attempts to quantify the land use changes during the period of 2001 to 2019 using GIS and to identify the ‘hot spots’ where a significant change in land use occurred. Land use/land cover (LULC) changed in the Bolgoda wetland area disproportionately. The greatest proportion of loss of natural area was observed in dense vegetation, where a 63.35 % decrease was apparent from 2000 to 2019. In contrast, the residential and commercial areas increased and in 2019 the change reached 49.62 % and 68.57 %, respectively. Hotspots were identified at Grama Niladhari divisions that belong to Kesbewa and Bandaragama DS divisions with the largest change in LULC. Thus, the results of the investigation provide vital information for the conservation and sustainable use of wetland resources in a rapidly expanding urban landscape.

Analysis of Level and Extent of Anthropogenic Activities in and Around Protected Areas (PAs): Case of Baturiya Wetlands, Jigawa State Nigeria

Wetlands are transitional points of habitats that are normally situated between a water body, vegetation cover and dry land. Human activities and climate change influence, the net loss of natural features in global wetlands. However, in the earlier 1990s, people began to understand the benefit of wetlands. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the level of anthropogenic activity in and around Baturiya wetlands and also to provide information on the extent of exploitation on Baturiya wetland. A questionnaire was designed and administered according to the objectives of the study. The result shows that a majority of the anthropogenic activity was conducted by men within the age range of 21-50 years. About 92.5% of the respondents are aware of the effect of the serial disturbances on vegetation resources. The exploitation was mainly for the massive use of energy, income generation, medicinal use and constructional materials. There is a strong need from the management and stakeholders to formulate a deliberate strategy for the provision of an alternative source of energy, health facilities, and a systematic awareness through training to the local communities around the Protected Areas (PAs) on wetland values, sustainable use of wetland resources and conservation strategies.

Geo-Spatial Analysis of Urban Wetlands Loss in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria

Urban wetlands make cities livable in many important ways. They reduce flooding, replenish drinking water, filter waste, provide urban green spaces, and are a source of livelihoods in most urban areas. This study aims to geo-spatially analyze urban wetland loss in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA), Rivers State, Nigeria. The study analyses land use /land cover changes (LULC) using Landsat7 UTM images of 2000, 2009 and 2018. The satellite images covering the area were acquired and analyzed using ArcGIS10.6. A total area of 25,773.39 sq km was delineated in the study area. After processing the imagery, five LULC classes where developed in ArcGIS environment, such as wetland, built-up area, vegetation, water bodies and bare surface. The study shows that the urban land-use of Obio-Akpor LGA had changed dramatically during the period of 18 years. In 2000, wetlands occupied the second-lowest classes with 9.12% (2352.15 sq.km) of the total classes due to high level of urban development in the area while built-up areas occupied the third-highest classes with 17.62% (4543.83 sq.km) of the total classes. In 2009, the study revealed that the built-up area (urban land use) rose to 19.3% (4975.11 sq.km) and maintained an increase in urban growth due to changes from constructions of many roads and houses while wetlands also surprisingly experienced an increase and occupied the third-highest classes with 19.17% (4942.26 sq.km). Evidence from the study show that 2018 witnessed an expansion in terms of developmental activities in all facets as the built-up area increased in three-fold size within the year, bare surface reduced to a class of 15.47% (4057.29 sq.km) forcing developers to develop towards the wetland ecosystem. The wetlands, therefore, experienced a sharp decline to 4.91% (1266.75 sq.km) due to rapid conversion of wetlands for housing development and excessive urban sprawl and its associated problems of inefficient use of land, urban space and the development of shanty towns/slums. The study concluded that there is a need for the wise use of wetland resources and improvement of institutional arrangement so that wetland policies can be fully integrated into the planning process across all disciplines.

Assessing the Changes of Ecosystem Services in the Nansi Lake Wetland, China

Wetlands provide many essential ecosystem services for human well-being. The ecological assessment of wetland ecosystem services is problematic and thus is an important focus in the field of ecological research. In this study, an ecological assessment system containing the ecosystem product value, ecosystem regulation service value, and ecosystem cultural service value was established to calculate the gross ecosystem product in the Nansi Lake Wetland, China. Based on remote sensing images, field studies, and literature reviews, the gross ecosystem product was estimated for the years 1985, 1992, 2005, 2011, and 2017. The results showed that the gross ecosystem product of the Nansi Lake Wetland increased from 40.91 × 108 USD in 1985 to 46.28 × 108 USD in 2017. The gross ecosystem product of the altered wetlands increased by about 8.5 times with a rising linear relationship, while natural wetlands presented a nonlinear relationship. Furthermore, except for the changes in climatic condition, anthropogenic interference factors such as coal mining activities, farming practices, and government policies have promoted significant services in the Nansi Lake Wetland over the past 30 years. This study could provide important insight into the ecological assessment of wetland ecosystems and thus inform policy for the protection and better use of wetland resources.