Degradation and Ecological Restoration of Estuarine Wetlands in China

Estuarine wetlands provide a wide range of ecosystem functions, including carbon storage, biodiversity maintenance, and shoreline protection, and have human recreational value. In recent years, over half of China's estuarine wetlands have been lost due to natural or anthropogenic stresses. Estuarine wetlands are facing great challenges regarding their protection, restoration and management. China's 18,436 km of coastline support nearly half of its human population and 45 of its 60 major cities. It sustains over 28,000 species, and processes the outflow from seven of its nine major rivers. Rapid economic development in China is a cause of coastal degradation. In an attempt to mitigate habitat loss, over 1000 coastal restoration projects have been conducted in China in the past few decades. Great achievements have been made in the wetland restoration projects. In the future, biological combined restoration technology will become increasingly popular in China.