Wetland Transitions and Protection under Rapid Urban Expansion: A Case Study of Pearl River Estuary, China

Hui Zhao, Xiaodan Wang, Yanjiang Cai and Weilong Liu
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Hui Zhao: Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
Xiaodan Wang: Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
Yanjiang Cai: Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China
Weilong Liu: Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Understanding wetland changes under urbanization is important for wetland management. In this study, net transition intensity (NTI) and total transition intensity (TTI) are presented to characterize wetland transitions based on spatial data obtained from Landsat satellite images of Pearl River estuary in South China. NTI is commonly used to represent changes in absolute amounts for each class of wetland, while TTI reflects the internal transition activities and amounts. The third index, the urbanization intensity index (UII), is used to investigate the intensity and velocity of urban land expansion at the same time periods. The results show that one-third of the total wetland area was lost from 1979 to 2009 in the study area and seven types of estuarine wetlands were degraded. The basic pattern of wetland transition is from natural wetlands to constructed wetlands and then to urban lands. Intertidal mud and sand and paddy fields were the major natural and constructed wetlands, respectively, transferred to urban lands. The TTI value was generally greater than the NTI value for these wetlands. TTI >> NTI is an important indicator for wetland transitions under rapid urban expansion in the Pearl River estuary. Based on the integration of the two indices (NTI and TTI), a protection and management plan framework for the Pearl River estuary wetlands is proposed. This plan emphasizes the key and important zones and their different features, and includes actions that can be implemented in and around natural and constructed wetlands.

Keywords: wetland transition; Landsat satellite images; urbanization expansion; protection plan; Pearl River estuary (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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