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Understanding the dynamic patterns of wetlands in the Yellow River basin and promoting connectivity among them are important for the protection and restoration of wetlands in this basin. Although many existing studies effectively optimize the structural characteristics of ecological networks, they often overlook the spatial distribution of the actual landscape to be optimized and the associated ecological risks. This study centers on Maduo County in Qinghai Province, employing the MSPA model and connectivity indices to meticulously analyze the spatial dynamics of wetland alterations and hydrological connectivity over the past two decades. The introduced concept of optimizing the importance index involves the stratification of low-connectivity wetland patches, identified as nodes for optimization. A theoretical assessment of the complexity and connectivity robustness of the river network before and after optimization was performed. Findings reveal: (1) The core area and connectivity of wetlands in Maduo County have exhibited persistent growth. The centroid of wetlands shifted southeastward in both periods, albeit at differing angles. (2) Hydrological connectivity of wetland patches in Maduo County experienced rapid enhancement from 2000 to 2010, maintaining stability from 2010 to 2020. (3) There are 44 nodes to be optimized, with 6, 13, and 25 nodes in levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively. As the number of levels increases, the nodes slated for optimization are more likely to be interconnected within the river network. Post-optimization, both the complexity and connectivity of the river network show improvement. The study will offer fundamental theoretical support for wetland research in the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangrove forest is a critical primary producer, biological habitat, and carbon sink in the subtropical-tropical coast zone, and the natural variation of mangrove coverage deserves study for a better understanding of the dynamics of mangrove coastal evolution. In this study, multispectral Landsat images from 1985 to 2018 are used to reconstruct the change in the coverage of mangrove (dominant species is Aegiceras corniculatum) and salt marsh (dominant species is Cyperus malaccensis) in the Nanliu River estuary. Tidal flat elevation measuring and 210Pb dating is used to study the substrate elevation when mangroves first colonize salt marsh. Historical temperature records, river discharge records, and the time series N/P concentration in sediment are analyzed. It is found that the mangrove forests have expanded rapidly in salt marsh since the mid-1980s. The change in factors such as accommodation space, cold event frequency, and nutrient supply cannot explain the origin of mangrove expansion. A low river discharge episode lasting for 8 years since 1986 is considered to have triggered the mangrove expansion in this area, as previously established salt marsh plants died due to germination restriction caused by high salinity and mangroves colonized the salt marsh habitat during this period. This case proves again that estuarine wetlands are very sensitive to salinity variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purification effect of a natural wetland landscape is often low when the focus is placed on the landscape effect. The effective combination of constructed wetland technology with landscape construction is challenging. Taking the Yuhe Wetland Park in Datong, Shanxi Province, China, as an example, the COD, phosphorus, and nitrogen removal capacities of aquatic plant species were determined, as well as the effects of the soil and the microbial communities. The highest COD and P removal capacity was observed for Typha orientalis Presl. which the purification rate reached 76.9% and 76.6%, and the highest N removal capacities were found for Scirpus validus Vahl., the rate of purification was 83.4%. Gram-negative bacteria were dominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the second batch of international wetland cities, Wuhan and Nanchang, both provincial capital cities in China, have abundant wetland resources. An important sign of achievement of protecting the urban wetland areas is the international wetland city designation. Understanding the growth and changes of wetlands in international wetland cities is necessary for wetland protection and management. Thus, it is crucial to conduct proper wetland mapping in these international wetland cities. By studying wetland cities, sustainable planning can be provided to promote the coordinated development of wetlands and cities. In this research, Google Earth Engine and random forest machine learning were used. According to the “Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom” research framework, we carried out mapping of diverse wetlands in Wuhan and Nanchang with a resolution of 10 m in 2015 and 2020. Then, using the findings of wetland mapping, we examined changes in the wetland landscapes of the two cities. Finally, this study examined changes in international wetland city indicators over this time frame. The research results are as follows. 1) Our wetland mapping results in 2015 and 2020 achieved good accuracy, with an overall accuracy of over 0.90 and a kappa coefficient of over 0.85. 2) The total wetland area in both cities increased. Nanchang grew by 91.11 km2, whereas Wuhan grew by 290.68 km2. Most restored wetland areas were far from urban construction areas. In the two cities, the fragmentation of wetlands decreased, the diversity of wetlands increased, and the growth rate of wetlands was high. 3) Wetland rates rose from 17.79% to 19.07% in Nanchang and from 19.74% to 23.12% in Wuhan, according to mapping results between 2015 and 2020. The wetland protection rate in Nanchang remained unchanged, but the wetland protection rate in Wuhan decreased. Wuhan needs to strengthen the protection of increased wetlands. In addition, the study found that most of the increased areas of wetlands were previously cultivated land. The international wetland mapping framework of this study can be easily implemented in other regions of the world.

The analysis of increasing settlement systems in recent years have brought an important perspective to archaeology in the evaluation of prehistoric settlements with their environments. In fact the geography and archaeology disciplines' both theoretical and methodological interaction, ensures a strong establishment of relationship between social and physical sciences. While geography reflects the diversity of the earth, its resources and the efforts of human beings to survive, on the other hand archaeolgy reflects the surviving human in all aspects. In this context, this paper primarily aims to refer to Eskişehir Middle Porsuk Basin and other similar regional studies, while focusing on how and to what extent the landscapes and climate models contribute to the archaelogical knowledge. There is also historical and ethnoarchaeological information supporting paleoclimate studies that climatic and environmental conditions may have been effective in the concentration of EBA settlements on the hillsides, ridges and hills in the Middle Porsuk Basin. For this reason, Demircihöyük will be tried to be examined in the context of the reflection of environmental adaptation practices on architecture, including floods, together with the results of archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies. Finally, thanks to the similar results from Küllüoba, it is aimed to develop a well-rounded interpretation of the region's EBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual wetland landscapes of provide fundamental support for digital twin watershed constructions. However, most digital twin applications in natural environments have focused on static digital scenes and little consideration for wetlands. The Poyang Lake is characterized by seasonal hydrologic changes, with periodic plant community successions, making it necessary to capture dynamic changes in the Poyang Lake ecological landscapes through dynamic three-dimensional (3D) scenes. This study selected typical landscapes to establish digital twin scenarios, presenting the virtual landscapes, distribution characteristics of flora and fauna in the Poyang Lake wetland, and seasonal changes in the lake water levels. The results can be used to restore the virtual Poyang Lake landscapes, including seasonal changes in the water surface, vegetation growth, and migratory bird activities. This construction process can be applied to similar digital twin constructs for flood-prone wetland watersheds, providing insights into digital twin watersheds or nature-oriented digital twin development. [Display omitted] • Explore and design a digital twin-scene modeling process for the Poyang Lake wetland environment. • Select representative migratory birds and wetland vegetation species from Poyang Lake to construct the model. • Simulate the typical virtual wetland environment through the digital twin construction. • Dynamically represent the changes in water levels, vegetation, and migratory bird activities in the digital twin scene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Changshagongma wetlands is the Chinese National Nature Reserve were listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2018. Here, we examined four periods (1992, 2002, 2013, and 2020) of remote sensing image data to analyze the changes in wetland landscape patterns and the ecological risk in Changshagongma Wetland Nature Reserve over the past 30 years. The results showed that wetlands account for approximately 30% of the study area, and swamp meadows were the main type of wetland, accounting for approximately 95% of the total wetland area. In terms of landscape patterns, wetland fragmentation declined, wetland patch shapes became less complicated, and spatial connectivity increased. The landscape fragmentation of non-wetland alpine meadows was reduced. The patches of sandy grasslands tended to be regular, and their spatial connectivity was reduced. The wetland regions of high ecological risk are concentrated in the central and southern parts of the Changshagongma Wetland Nature Reserve. Low-risk regions are mainly concentrated in the contiguous swamp meadows in the northwest and wetlands in the southwest. From 1992 to 2020, the level of ecological risk of the Changshagongma Wetland Nature Reserve showed a “∧”-shaped trend, with the highest risk in 2002 and the lowest risk in 2020. Among the selected indicators, climate conditions constituted the main factor affecting the ecological risk of the Changshagongma Wetland Nature Reserve, followed by topographical conditions, and human activities were the least influential. Over the past 30 years, the temperature and precipitation in the study area increased significantly. The climate in the study area can be roughly divided into two periods bounding 2002, and the climate has been changing from cold and dry to warm and wet. The ecological environment of the study area is affected by natural and human activities. Cold and dry climatic conditions and uncontrolled grazing accelerate the destruction of the wetland ecological environment, and warm and wet climatic conditions and ecological conservation policies are conducive to the ecological restoration of wetlands. In general, the wetland landscape structure in the study area has become less complex, landscape heterogeneity has decreased, and ecological quality has improved.

Artificial drainage of wetlands can increase nest predation risk through landscape changes that support higher predator numbers or expose the nests. We experimentally studied how nest predation responds to reversing such pressures by forested wetland restoration and predator removal. We studied two pairs of experimental and control landscapes in north-eastern (NE) and southwestern (SW) Estonia, where mammalian mesopredators were specifically hunted. Within the SW landscape pair, we simultaneously had a replicated before-after-control-impact experiment of restoring sparse pine wetlands for the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) by ditch blocking and partial cutting. Three years after the habitat manipulations, we found drastically increased predation rates of artificial ground nests across those restoration blocks (including uncut stands there), with no compensating effect of the predator removal. However, outside the experimental blocks of the SW predator removal landscape, higher reproductive success of the hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) and capercaillie was recorded after the removal; there was also evidence of improved landscape-scale survival of artificial nests in both the SW and NE removal landscapes. These results indicate that wetland restoration can suppress grouse reproduction at least in the short term, but predator control can mitigate these effects on a broader scale. Restoring habitat quality in forested wetlands is a complex task that requires long-term studies of alternatives and precautionary approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands are important ecosystems but face a grim future due to the impacts of human activities, such as lost area and function. Their landscape patterns and the environment quickly respond to external disturbance. This paper selected Jiaozhou Bay as the study area and used man-machine interactive remote sensing to extract information from wetlands. Human disturbance indices and landscape transition methods were used to conduct a scenario analysis of the evolution of landscape disturbance in Jiaozhou Bay wetlands from 1973 ~ 2018. The quantitative and spatial changes in landscape disturbance types on the wetlands were also analyzed, the changes were clustered and merged, and the dynamic change types of disturbance in the study area were summarized. Among landscape disturbance types, anthropogenic renewable and non-renewable landscapes increased continuously: in particular, the anthropogenic non-renewable type had the largest area increase, a testament to continued human disturbance. After these types of changes are sorted out, a K-Means clustering algorithm was used to classify the dynamic characteristics of disturbance transition into nine types. Due to their superior physiographic conditions, the wetlands of Jiaozhou Bay have been more vulnerable to disturbance by human activities, national industrial policies, socio-economic development, and other factors have also contributed to intensified disturbance.

The establishment of protected areas (PAs) is an effective and prevailing tool for conserving wetlands globally, however, strong evidence indicates that not all PAs can deliver adequate conservation to wetland ecosystems due to the impacts of natural and anthropogenic factors. Many studies have used multiple indices to assess the conservation effectiveness of PAs, but those complicated indices are usually difficult to be employed at large-scale. Therefore, this study aims to develop a rapid assessment methodology for conservation effectiveness of wetland PAs across the Chinese mainland. We combined the area and pattern-based landscape indices (i.e., Landuse Dynamic Index and Fragmentation Dynamic Index) to measure wetland landscape changes between 1990 and 2008, based on which we constructed the Area-Pattern Quadrant Analysis (APQA) system to facilitate the conservation assessment of wetland national nature reserves. Four typical modes of landscape changes were generalized to reveal and compare the conservation effectiveness associated with their cause-effect drivers among 92 wetland national nature reserves within ten major river basins across the Chinese mainland. In addition, 210 subcatchments containing the reserves were also used as baselines to assess and discriminate the natural and human-induced effects on the performance of those reserves. The areal percentages among the four modes indicated that the wetland landscape changes were dominated by spatially heterogeneous drivers, and reserves showed relatively low conservation effectiveness, particularly in those densely populated and socioeconomically developed regions such as the Yangtze River Basin, the Yellow River Basin and the Pearl River Basin. Only 16 reserves were excellently rated in conservation effectiveness, in comparison with 31 reserves poorly rated due to greater anthropogenic encroachment. Our research demonstrated that APQA-based landscape assessment can be used as an easily-used early warning indicator to capture wetland landscape changes in relation to their underlying natural and anthropogenic drivers, and to provide knowledge-based management guidance by using standardized and rapid assessment techniques.

Wetlands are important ecosystems but face a grim future due to the impacts of human activities, such as lost area and function. Their landscape patterns and the environment quickly respond to external disturbance. This paper selected Jiaozhou Bay as the study area and used man-machine interactive remote sensing to extract information from wetlands. Human disturbance indices and landscape transition methods were used to conduct a scenario analysis of the evolution of landscape disturbance in Jiaozhou Bay wetlands from 1973 ~ 2018. The quantitative and spatial changes in landscape disturbance types on the wetlands were also analyzed, the changes were clustered and merged, and the dynamic change types of disturbance in the study area were summarized. Among landscape disturbance types, anthropogenic renewable and non-renewable landscapes increased continuously: in particular, the anthropogenic non-renewable type had the largest area increase, a testament to continued human disturbance. After these types of changes are sorted out, a K-Means clustering algorithm was used to classify the dynamic characteristics of disturbance transition into nine types. Due to their superior physiographic conditions, the wetlands of Jiaozhou Bay have been more vulnerable to disturbance by human activities, national industrial policies, socio-economic development, and other factors have also contributed to intensified disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of global environmental change, land transformation is acknowledged as a critical subject that needs to be addressed. Even though some studies have been carried out in Ghana on land use and land cover (LULC) change of wetlands, the conventional methods used were unable to reveal the underlying processes associated with the land transformation. This study employed Intensity Analysis to assess LULC change pattern (1985–2017) in three coastal urban wetlands of international importance in Ghana in order to identify the fundamental processes driving the wetland landscape transformation. Wetlands considered for this study were the Densu Delta, Sakumo II and Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Sites. The observed overall annual change in the first time interval; 2.42% (Densu Delta), 1.47% (Sakumo II) and 2.65% (Muni-Pomadze) was smaller compared to that of the second time interval 2.60% (Densu Delta), 3.55% (Sakumo II) and 2.91% (Muni-Pomadze). The human-induced LULC categories continuously grew at the expense of natural LULC categories. Large transitions from natural LULC categories to built-up were observed in all the three wetlands and in addition, large transition of dense forest to cultivated land was recorded at the Muni-Pomadze Ramsar Site. The main underlying process associated with land transformation in the wetlands was urbanization. Besides, agricultural activities also contributed substantially to LULC changes at the Muni-Pomadze wetland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization, industrialization, agricultural activities, and increasing trend of some natural hazards, such as climate change, particularly in coastal areas, necessitate the continual assessment of critical but fragile ecosystems like that of the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS). This productive ecosystem in Ghana faces serious threats from intensive exploitation, physical modification, changes in water regime, and water pollution. The current study employed geospatial and intensity analysis to assess the pattern of land use/land cover (LULC) change for almost the past three decades and morphometric parameters of the KLCRS landscape. Landsat Satellite images for 1991, 2007, and 2020 were acquired to uncover the pattern of LULC change, while morphometric changes were assessed using global Advance Space Thermal Emission and Radiometer (ASTER) digital elevation model (DEM) data and the spatial analyst tools in GIS software. The result established that the acceleration of land transformation was intensive between 2007 and 2020, which could be linked to population growth and increased socio-economic activities. There was a net gross gain of built-up that originated largely from the conversion of marsh, dense vegetation, and cultivated land. Prior to this period, cultivated land recorded net gain (125.51 km2) between 1991 and 2007, whereas dense vegetation and marshland showed a net loss of 151.37 km2 and 2.44 km2, respectively. The gain of cultivated land largely targeted marshland in both time intervals. The construction of saltpans contributed largely to the small increase in water extent. The morphometric analysis revealed the groundwater potential of the KLCRS. The low-lying nature of the landscape makes the area susceptible to coastal flooding. The trend of the observed changes could invariably affect the ecological integrity of the landscape, hence suggesting the need for immediate preparation and implementation of marine and coastal spatial plans by relevant stakeholders.

In this paper, the landscape design of the Bailuxi Wetland in University of Sanya was studied by using the research method of “survey—analysis—design”. The questionnaire survey, field observation and landscape pattern analysis were used to analyze the landscape pattern of the Bailuxi Wetland as well as the characteristics and problems of the six subsystems of green space, activity, road, animal, plant, and sound. Then the overall structure and function design of the Bailuxi Wetland landscape, the optimization adjustment of the landscape pattern, the optimization design of the subsystem, and the relationship design between human and the animal, plant, and sound systems were proposed. This study is dedicated to providing effective advice on the planning and design of campus wetland landscapes, with a view to providing examples for the planning and design of campus wetland landscapes. The research indicates that: ① Scientific and rational spatial structure and functional layout planning are prerequisites for the sustainable development of wetland landscapes; ② the balanced development of subsystems in the campus wetland system is a necessary condition for maintaining the rationality of the campus landscape pattern; ③ the degree of harmony between humans and animals, plants, and sounds affects the ecological sustainability of campus wetland landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plants wastes play an important role during water remediation in wetlands. Plant waste is made into biochar, which is usually used directly or as a water biofilter to remove pollutants. While, the water remediation effect of combination for biochar from woody and herbaceous wastes coupling with substrate types in CWs have not been fully explored. To explore the water remediation effect of combination for biochar coupling with substrate on pH, Turbidity, COD, NH 4 +-N, TN and TP, four plant configuration modes combining seven woody plants and eight herbaceous plants (Plants A, Plants B, Plants C, Plants D) were coupled with three substrate types (Substrate 1, Substrate 2, Substrate 3) as 12 experiment groups, using water detection methods and significant differences test (LSD) to analyze. Results showed: (1) Compared to Substrate 3, Substrate 1 and Substrate 2 removed significantly higher in pollutants concentration (p < 0.05) ; (2) NH 4 +-N final concentration in Plants C and Plants D were both significantly lower than Plants A and Plants B coupling with Substrate 1 and Substrate 2 (p < 0.05). The TN final concentration of Plants C was significantly lower than Plants A in Substrate 1 (p < 0.05) , and Plants A's turbidity was significantly lower than Plants C and Plants D's in Substrate 2 (p < 0.05) ; (3) The pollutants removal of group A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1 and D2 were significantly higher than other experiment groups (p < 0.05). Group A2, B2, C1 and D1 had the best water remediation effect and better stability of plant community. Findings in this study will be beneficial for remediating polluted water and building sustainable wetlands. [Display omitted] • Woody & herbaceous waste combo improves wetland water remediation. • Experiment shows best plant configurations for pollutant removal. • Substrate type affects pollutants removal in wetlands. • Sustainable wetlands construction can benefit from these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River Delta, located on the west coast of Laizhou Bay, is the most extensive and youngest wetland in the China’s warm temperate zone. It possesses abundant species and numerous new land resources. However, urban construction, reclamation, oil exploitation, tourism development and other human activities in recent years have directly or indirectly impacted the wetland ecosystem pattern, and naturally, the wetland landscape has significantly changed. In view of this phenomenon, most scholars have only studied the influence of single human activity on wetland landscape, lacking holistic grasp and response analysis of wetland landscape pattern under different disturbance intensity. Therefore, based on the theory of landscape ecology and the support of RS (remote sensing), ArcGIS and FRAGSTATS, the wetland landscape type map in the Yellow River Delta influenced by the human activities was constructed using the method of artificial visual interpretation with the 4 remote sensing images (1989, 1999, 2009, 2014), and the cultivated land, industrial and mining land and other land use were selected to reflect the intensity of human activities, which was divided into 10 levels from strong to weak using the natural breaks method. Besides, the change characteristics of wetland landscape pattern in different periods within different transects were analyzed, as well as the gradients response of 4 main types of landscape pattern characteristics to human activity intensity in 2014. The results were as follows: 1) The total area of the Yellow River Delta increased slightly. Natural wetland landscape showed a decreasing trend, of which beach was reduced the most, followed by meadow, and the artificial wetland landscape continued to increase. 2) The landscape transfer was very dramatic, mutual transformation between meadow, beach and other natural wetland landscape turned larger, while that between construction land, mining land and other non-wetland landscape turned smaller. Which was the largest decrease in tidal flat, a decrease of 38 245.35 hm2, followed by a decrease of meadow 37 164.54 hm2. 3) Influenced by human activities and other factors, the fragmentation degree of wetland landscape in the Yellow River Delta was intensified within the 25 years, and the patch type was especially more diversified and was more evenly distributed in the landscape. What was more, the landscape also showed obvious spatial differences in different transects due to human activities. 4) At the landscape level, wetland landscape richness and PD (patch density) increased with the decrease of human activity intensity, and in 2009, the number of patches reached eight thousand; yet SHDI (Shannon diversity index) and SHEI (Shannon evenness index) first ascended and then descended, which was consistent with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. In addition, landscape aggregation increased, and landscape connectivity also increased, which reached 99.42% to the most extent, while the degree of fragmentation reduced. At the type level, the change of landscape pattern could be well reflected by the 4 main landscape types (reservoir pond, aquafarm, salt pan and unutilized land). Especially, PLAND (percentage of landscape), PD, and LPI (largest patch index) had significant variations with the gradient of human activity intensity, and LSI (landscape shape index) and MPFD (mean patch fractal dimension) changed obviously, which indicated that landscape shape was becoming increasingly complicated. The largest patch index of salt pan reached 26%, when human interfered with salt pan to the most extent. The study also revealed the gradient change of landscape pattern along the intensity of human activities, which could provide a reference for the rational development and sustainable utilization of the Yellow River Delta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study introduces a method to quantify the scenic value of wetland landscapes and provides the guidance on the allocation of efforts for the purpose of preserving the most important environments. Dongting Lake, a traditional tourist location, is one of the five largest freshwater lakes in China and a Grade 5A National Scenic Region. This study objectively analyzes the scenic resources of South Dongting Lake, and presents a model based on Quantification Theory I to assess wetland scenic landscapes. Employing a multilinear regression relationship between landscape factors and their associated scenic value, we built up the Wetland Landscape Quantification Model (WLQM), which was used to classify 221 landscapes into five grades. Finally, some suggestions are proposed regarding quantitative assessment and its use for the sustainable development of wetland environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the interpretation and vector processing of remote sensing images in 1985 and 2000, the spatial changes of wetland landscape patterns in Dadu River catchment in the last two decades were studied using spatial analysis method. Supported by Apack software, the indices of wetland landscape pattern were calculated, and the information entropy (IE) was also introduced to show the changes of wetland landscape information. Results showed that wetland landscape in this region was characteristic of patch-corridor-matrix configuration and dominantly consisted of natural wetlands. Landscape patterns changed a little with low fragment and showed concentrated distribution with partial scattered distribution during the period from 1985 to 2000. The values of patch density and convergence index kept stable, and the values of diversity, evenness indices and IE showed a slight decrease, while dominance and fractal dimension indices were increased. All types of wetland landscapes had higher adjacency probabilities with grassland landscape in 1985 and 2000, and there was extremely weak hydrological link and large spatial gap among river, glacier, reservoir and pond wetlands due to low adjacency matrix values. Since their cumulative contribution exceeded 81% through the PCA analysis, the agriculture activities would be the main driving force to the landscape changes during the past 15 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the 20 urban park wetlands in Beijing as test objects, a 3-layer evaluation index system including urban park wetland landscape quality, location condition, and accessibility for the recreational attraction of urban bark wetlands was established, and, by using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and an integrating index evaluation method, the recreational attraction of the urban park wetlands in Beijing was quantitatively assessed, and validated with questionnaire data. In Beijing, the urban park wetlands with high recreational attraction were in the order of the Summer Palace, Olympic Park, Qinglong Lake Park, Beihai Park, Yuanmingyuan Park, Yuyuantan Park, Shidu, Golden Sea Lake scenic area, Taoranting Park, and Yeyahu wetland. The Rice Fragrance Lake wetland and Zhenzhuhu scenic area had the lowest recreational attraction, and the others were fair. The evaluation results were supported by the questionnaire data, which indicated that the index system and evaluation model were useful. According to the recreational services, the 20 park wetlands in Beijing could be clustered into four categories, which could be managed in different ways. Appropriately assessing the recreational services of urban park wetlands could help the decision-making on the urban parks optimal planning and designing, improve human living environment, and optimize the spatial distribution of urban landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With the applications of remote sensing in the study of wetland landscape is more and more extensive, computer automatic classification method appears especially important. In this paper, using TM remote sensing data in August 2008 year in Dalinor, Research to application of BP neural network and Traditional classification methods - maximum likelihood. Through the selection of training samples, Choice of training algorithm and Optimal number of hidden neurons to determine, the precision of BP neural network classification and the accuracy of maximum likelihood classification are compared, The results showed that BP neural network based on LM algorithm is better than the maximum likelihood method for classify to remote sensing image Higher accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Hani terrace paddyfield in Yunnan Province, China is categorized as a ‘constructed wetland’ under the Lamsar Convention classification. The Hani terrace paddyfield ranges from an altitude of 144 to 2000 m above sea level (ASL) in the southern slopes of the Ailao Mountains, angling down at a range of 15° to 75°. In this study, we investigated the ecosystem of the terrace paddyfields in the Mengpin and Quanfuzhuang administrative villages located at the center of the cultural heritage conservation district in the Hani terrace paddyfield. The Hani terrace paddyfield ecosystem structure is “forest-village-terrace paddyfield-river” in the order of descending altitude. Soil and water samples were sequentially taken from forests, villages and the terrace paddyfields to be able to study the vertical characteristics of Hani's terrace paddyfields. PO4-P and NH3-N in water were measured to test for water contamination. Seven soil nutrient factors were tested, including organic material (OM), char and nitrogen ratio (C/N), pH, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK). Soil quality was also evaluated using the characteristics of the soil nutrient factors. Vertical changes in the landscape, wetland types, wetland plants, hydrology and soil nutrients were characterized. Results showed that: (1) Hani's terrace paddyfield can be divided into five types of wetlands; the rice varieties and cultivation patterns vary in each type of wetland. (2) Hani's terrace paddyfield has a great capacity for water conservation and a strong ability to purify contaminants. The impoundage of Hani's terrace paddyfield is about 5050 m3/hm2. Contaminants in the terrace paddyfield soils decrease exponentially with the decline in altitude. (3) Comparison of soil quality in five different land use types indicates decreasing soil quality from forest to terrace land to terrace paddyfield to water source. Except for headwater soil, single factors such as OM, TN and TP, and the comprehensive soil quality in individual sampling zones tend to increase with altitude elevation. Comprehensive soil quality in the Quanfuzhuang sampling zone is better than in the Mengpin sampling zone. Finally, a comparison of Hani's terrace paddyfield with plain paddyfields and natural wetlands highlighted the vertical characteristics of Hani's terrace paddyfield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, remote sensing data of Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in 1996–2001 were selected to extract wetland landscape information. Several landscape indices were used to evaluate the changes of landscape pattern within the five years, including patch number, patch density, patch fractal dimension, landscape diversity, dominance, evenness, and fragmentation indexes. Then, transformation probabilities of wetland landscapes into non-wetland landscapes were calculated based on Markov Model, and on these grounds the relationship between changes of wetland landscape pattern and urban construction was analyzed. The results showed that fragmentation degree of all wetland types increased, lake area declined, and dominance of natural wetland decreased. The reasons for these results were mainly because of urban construction. According to the features of abundant wetland in Wuhan City, we suggested that protection of wetland landscape should cooperate with urban construction, which means wetland should become important part of urban landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Agricultural landscapes have received little recognition for the food resources they provide to wintering waterbirds. In the Willamette Valley of Oregon, modest yet significant populations of wintering shorebirds (Charadriiformes) regularly use hundreds of dispersed wetlands on agricultural lands. Benthic invertebrates are a critical resource for the survival of overwintering shorebirds, yet the abundance of invertebrate resources in agricultural wetlands such as these has not been quantified. To evaluate the importance of agricultural wetlands to a population of wintering shorebirds, the density, biomass, and general community composition of invertebrates available to birds were quantified at a sample of Willamette Valley sites during a wet (1999–2000) and a dry winter (2000–2001). Invertebrate densities ranged among wetlands from 173 to 1925 (mean±S.E.: 936±106) individuals/m2 in the wet winter, and from 214 to 3484 (1028±155) individuals/m2 in the dry winter. Total invertebrate estimated biomass among wetlands ranged from 35 to 652 (mean±S.E.: 364±35) mg/m2 in the wet winter, and from 85 to 1405 (437±62) mg/m2 in the dry winter. These estimates for food abundance were comparable to that observed in some other important freshwater wintering regions in North America. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dongting Lake is internationally an important wetland. We studied and summarized the conception, function, classification and current situation of the wetland-landscape culture in this region. The results showed that the culture of Dongting Lake wetland was rich in diversity, which are the Rice Cultivation Culture, high-balustrade dwelling, Nuo Culture, Ship Culture, Dragon Boat Culture, Chu Culture, Ancient Architecture Landscape, Wetland Foodstuff and Cuisine Culture, Civil Art, Historic Heritage and Cultural Relics, Revolutionary Sites and Ruins, and Production and Living Culture, etc. We also evaluated the eco-tourism value of wetland landscape culture, and analyzed its features and orientation. The results revealed that the south Dongting Lake wetland plays a key role on the Changjiang (Yangtze) River reaches civilization and Chinese civilization, even has great influence on the global civilization. We summarized that the soul of the south Dongting Lake Culture was Wetland Culture, Water Culture, Rice Cultivation and Chu Culture. The thoughts, principles and approaches of sustainable exploitation and utilization of the wetland landscape culture were formulated and suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization, industrialization, agricultural activities, and increasing trend of some natural hazards, such as climate change, particularly in coastal areas, necessitate the continual assessment of critical but fragile ecosystems like that of the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site (KLCRS). This productive ecosystem in Ghana faces serious threats from intensive exploitation, physical modification, changes in water regime, and water pollution. The current study employed geospatial and intensity analysis to assess the pattern of land use/land cover (LULC) change for almost the past three decades and morphometric parameters of the KLCRS landscape. Landsat Satellite images for 1991, 2007, and 2020 were acquired to uncover the pattern of LULC change, while morphometric changes were assessed using global Advance Space Thermal Emission and Radiometer (ASTER) digital elevation model (DEM) data and the spatial analyst tools in GIS software. The result established that the acceleration of land transformation was intensive between 2007 and 2020, which could be linked to population growth and increased socio-economic activities. There was a net gross gain of built-up that originated largely from the conversion of marsh, dense vegetation, and cultivated land. Prior to this period, cultivated land recorded net gain (125.51 km2) between 1991 and 2007, whereas dense vegetation and marshland showed a net loss of 151.37 km2 and 2.44 km2, respectively. The gain of cultivated land largely targeted marshland in both time intervals. The construction of saltpans contributed largely to the small increase in water extent. The morphometric analysis revealed the groundwater potential of the KLCRS. The low-lying nature of the landscape makes the area susceptible to coastal flooding. The trend of the observed changes could invariably affect the ecological integrity of the landscape, hence suggesting the need for immediate preparation and implementation of marine and coastal spatial plans by relevant stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Landsat images in 1987, 2002 and 2014 from Nansi Lake located in Shandong Province, landscape pattern index, dynamic index, landscape gradient and gridding model were used for analysis of the wetland distribution in the lake. The results showed that the landscape contagion index and aggregation index gradually decreased from 1987 to 2014, while the landscape diversity index and evenness index gradually increased. The distribution of landscape area was more uniform while its patterns trended to be fragmented. Human activities impacted Nansi wetland distribution and the disturbance presented an increasing trend. The total area of Nansi wetland gradually increased during the study period. The area of lake first decreased then increased, and the area reached the maximum in 2014. The area of the ponds along the riparian zone had increased gradually, but the increasing speed slowed down. The area of the rivers remained stable, while the area of the swamps decreased continually during the period. The change of landscape pattern of Nansi Lake wetland mainly resulted from agricultural activities, establishment of Nansi Lake Natural Reserve, and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.