Remote Sensing and GIS Support to Identify Potential Areas for Wetland Restoration from Cropland: A Case Study in the West Songnen Plain, Northeast China

Ling Luo, Dehua Mao, Zongming Wang, Baojia Du, Hengqi Yan and Bai Zhang
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Ling Luo: Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Dehua Mao: Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Zongming Wang: Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Baojia Du: Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Hengqi Yan: Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China
Bai Zhang: Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Wetland restoration is important to responding to climate change and ensuring ecological security. In terms of the serious wetland loss and limited wetland restoration in China, there is a need to investigate approaches to identifying potential areas for wetland restoration from cropland, in order to support making spatial decisions at a regional scale. Here, we provide an example of integrating remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) effectively to identify where and how many croplands could be converted into wetlands in the West Songnen Plain (WSNP). The map of potential areas for wetland restoration from croplands generated in this study is expected to help decision makers to implement wetland restoration in the WSNP. Besides the widely highlighted hydrological, topographical, and landscape features, four indicators, namely, flooded area, time under cultivation, human disturbance, and wetland conservation level, were selected to identify the potential areas for wetland restoration—with different priorities—from croplands. Satellite observation revealed that a total of 2753.3 km 2 of wetlands have been cultivated into croplands for grain production from 1990 to 2015 in the WSNP. It is estimated that 8882.1 km 2 of croplands are suitable for conversion to wetlands, of which 3706 km 2 (29.4%) are with high priority, and 44.5% are from dry farmlands. A total of 3284.7 km 2 of paddy fields are identified to be potential areas for wetland restoration, of which 1119.6 km 2 are high priority, and another 2165.1 km 2 are medium priority.

Keywords: agricultural cultivation; GIS; remote sensing; cropland; wetland restoration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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