Preliminary manifestation of the Yangtze River Protection Strategy in improving the carbon sink function of estuary wetlands

Haoyu Dong; Yu Hu; Liwei Qian; Jianfang Yan; Lianying Gao; Wenxuan Mei; Jialu Zhang; Xiuzhi Chen; Pengfei Wu; Ying Sun; Xiaohua Fu; Mengdi Xie; Lei Wang

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.108974

Preliminary manifestation of the Yangtze River Protection Strategy in improving the carbon sink function of estuary wetlands

iScience. 2024 Jan 19;27(2):108974. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.108974. eCollection 2024 Feb 16.

Authors

Haoyu Dong¹, Yu Hu^{1

2}, Liwei Qian^{1

3}, Jianfang Yan^{1

4}, Lianying Gao¹, Wenxuan Mei¹, Jialu Zhang¹, Xiuzhi Chen⁵, Pengfei Wu⁵, Ying Sun⁵, Xiaohua Fu¹, Mengdi Xie¹, Lei Wang^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
² Shanghai Urban Construction Design and Research Institute, Shanghai 200125, China.
³ Research Department of Energy and Eco-Environment, Zhejiang Development & Planning Institute, Hangzhou 310030, China.
⁴ College of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, P.R. China.
⁵ Shanghai Jiuduansha Wetland Nature Reserve Management Affairs Center, Shanghai 200136, China.
⁶ College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China.

Abstract

In 2016, the Yangtze River Protection Strategy was proposed and a series of measures were applied to restore the health and function of the Yangtze River ecosystem. However, the impact of these measures on the carbon (C) sink capacity of the Yangtze River estuary wetlands has not been exhaustively studied. In this work, the effects of these measures on the C sink capacity of Yangtze River estuary wetlands were examined through the long-term monitoring of C fluxes, soil respiration, plant growth and water quality. The C flux of the Yangtze River estuary wetlands has become increasingly negative after the implementation of these measures, mainly owing to reduction in soil CO₂ emission. The decrease in the chemical fertilizer release and returning farmland to wetland had led to the improvement of water quality in the estuary area, which further reduced soil heterotrophic microbial activity, and ultimately decreasing soil CO₂ emissions of estuary wetlands.

Keywords: Earth sciences; Geochemistry; Natural sciences; River geochemistry.