Nanhui Dongtan wetland

Nanhui Dongtan wetland

Nanhui Dongtan wetland covers an area of 122.5 square kilometers. It starts from the airport enclosure in the north, ends at Luchaogang Wharf in Nanhui new town in the south, ends at jiusitang in the West and ends at the beach in the East. In September 2007, Nanhui Dongtan was approved as the first "wildlife sanctuary" in Shanghai. All wild animals in this area are forbidden to hunt. In 2008, Nanhui Dongtan wetland was recognized as an important international bird area by birdlife, and the WWF (World Wide Fund for nature) observation area was set up. After 2012, due to climate reasons and human destruction, the number of birds that can fly to Nanhui Dongtan is decreasing, and the number one "Bird Paradise" in Shencheng has nearly disappeared. In 2015, nearly 400000 birds were detected in Nanhui Dongtan, compared with 418000 in 2016. In 2009, millions of birds were detected.

brief introduction

At the end of last century, by reclaiming land from the sea, a tidal flat of about 150000 Mu was formed in the dike extending more than 50 kilometers from Donghai Bridge in the south to the boundary river in Pudong in the north. Washed by rain, the tidal flat gradually evolved into a wetland with reeds and migratory birds. From 2006 to 2008, 249 species of birds were recorded in this area. Because it is on the migratory route from East Asia to Australasia, it has gradually become a wetland with rich water and grass since this area became a land by sea. Nanhui Dongtan has also become a bird watching resort for citizens, and was approved as a "wildlife sanctuary" in 2007. At present, there are 4 species of first-class national protected animals, 23 species of second-class national protected animals, 10 species of key protected birds in Shanghai, and 15 species of endangered wild animals and plants.

According to statistics, more than 250 kinds of birds have been observed in Nanhui Dongtan wetland. Among them, there are 4 species of national first-class protected animals, including Red Crowned Crane, white crane, Oriental White Stork and Relict Gull; 23 species of national second-class protected animals, including Little Swan, mandarin duck and black faced Spoonbill; 10 species of key protected birds in Shanghai; 15 species of endangered wild animals and plants. At the same time, the number of yellow billed egret, three toed snipe and other waterbirds recorded here has exceeded the 1% standard of the population on the migration route, and has reached the international important wetland standard. In 2008, Nanhui Dongtan wetland was recognized as an important international bird area by birdlife, and the WWF (World Wide Fund for nature) observation area was set up.

The results showed that the highest number of birds was 21599 in Nanhui Dongtan, including 3 species (Red Crowned Crane, white crane and Oriental White Crane) belonging to the first class national protection, 17 species (second class national protection), 5 species (key protected birds in Shanghai), 4 species (Appendix I) and 11 species (Appendix II) belonging to the Convention on international trade in endangered species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention). At the same time, the number of yellow billed white crane and three toed Sandpiper recorded here has exceeded 1% of the world population and reached the international important wetland standard. Nanhui Dongtan game reserve is the middle point of the north and South coastline of China. It is located on the migration route of migratory birds from East Asia to Australia. It is an important transit station for migratory birds to move south to north. With the rapid deposition of sediment, it has become one of the areas with the most abundant beach wetland resources in the city. WWF World Wide Fund for nature has designated it as a "demonstration site for integrated management of estuaries" to promote biodiversity conservation in the Yangtze River and basic habitat construction and management of Waterfowl Habitat in the game reserve.

Many migratory birds gather here, making Nanhui Dongtan wetland an important place for wild birds in Shanghai. It is considered by birders as the best place to watch waterfowl on the mainland. It is suitable for bird watching all year round. About 40 to 50 species of birds can be observed in one day. WWF World Wide Fund for nature has designated it as a "demonstration site for integrated management of estuaries" to promote biodiversity conservation in the Yangtze River and basic habitat construction and management of Waterfowl Habitat in the game reserve. Nanhui Dongtan once became the first "Bird Paradise" in Shencheng city. According to the results of the 2009 synchronized survey of waterfowl in Shanghai, no matter the species or number of waterfowl (92 species, 37895 times), Nanhui Dongtan wildlife reserve is superior to Chongming Dongtan Bird Nature Reserve.

natural environment

In recent 10 years, nearly 30 species of birds were first found in Nanhui Dongtan in Shanghai. This year, so far, five species of birds have been found for the first time, namely, the brown bellied giant fairy flycatcher, the West China Willow, the blue bunting, the crow beaked roll tail and the middle skua. The birds outside the seawall are generally geese and ducks in winter, such as spotted billed Duck, mallard duck and green winged duck. During the migration period from April to May and from August to October every year, red necked shorebirds, ring necked shorebirds and black bellied shorebirds are the main shorebirds. In the wetland inside the seawall, birds represent egrets that can be seen all the year round, such as egrets and herons. In summer, there will be a certain number of swallows in the water area inside the seawall Gulls, mainly white winged floating gulls and bearded floating gulls. Moreover, in addition to both sides of the seawall, in the nearby Dishui Lake, there are a lot of bony top chickens and rib ducks in winter. In addition, there are many forest birds in the reeds of Nanhui East Beach, such as Bruchus grandiflorus, Bruchus sinicus, Chinese panfinch, rufous fantail warbler, rufous Wren warbler and so on. In summer, there will be Oriental reed warbler and Rhododendron.

Nanhui Dongtan has a typical coastal wetland ecological environment, which makes it an important transit station for transit birds to move from south to north. There are abundant vegetation, mainly reed community, Scirpus mariqueter community and so on. At the same time, it is also one of the areas with the most abundant zoobenthos resources in Shanghai. There are more than 100 species of zoobenthos, including molluscs, crustaceans, polychaetes and fish. These provide resting places and food for migratory birds, and attract a large number of birds to stop, forage and inhabit here. Every autumn and winter, the migratory birds fly to the south, and their physical strength is exhausted. Nanhui Dongtan wetland becomes their last supply point before they reach their destination. They rest here for a month or two, and then continue to fly south. In the spring of next year, Nanhui Dongtan wetland will become the first resting place for birds to fly back to the north. They will also rest here for a while and then fly to the north. There are also some birds that will stop here for the winter. Many forest birds and herons live in Nanhui Dongtan all year round. Due to climate factors and the reduction of wetland resources along the way, fewer birds can fly to Nanhui Dongtan. In 2015, nearly 400000 birds were detected in Nanhui Dongtan, compared with 418000 in 2016. Once upon a time, millions of birds were detected in a year.

Man made destruction

In recent years, more than 20 people have been arrested and prosecuted for illegal hunting of wild birds in Nanhui Dongtan. There was once a poacher who was sentenced to five years for illegally hunting 14 mandarin ducks, a second-class national protected animal.

Due to the reclamation of Nanhui beach for several years, most of the wetland habitats in the original dike have been gradually dried up, with reeds growing, and gradually used by the project. Therefore, in 2009, the municipal Wildlife Protection and management station cooperated with East China Normal University and other scientific research departments to carry out the construction and restoration of wetland bird habitat in nearly 4500 mu area of Nanhui Dongtan game reserve. Through the implementation of many measures such as terrain shaping, vegetation control and water level regulation, we have created many different habitats such as shoal swamp, deep water area and reed area, and successfully attracted the national key protected wild birds such as Oriental White Stork, Little Swan, black faced Spoonbill, white Spoonbill and other rare birds to live here for the winter. Facts have proved that these efforts have played a positive role. According to statistics, after three years of a sharp decrease in birds, a synchronous survey of waterfowls was conducted in 2009. A total of 40000 waterfowls were observed in Nanhui Dongtan, and 30000 in 2010, which was the first significant increase. In 2013, Nanhui Dongtan wetland will start rehabilitation, covering an area of 7000 mu, including most of the core area of bird habitat, which will become paddy fields in the future.

As one of the most important original ecological wetlands in Shanghai, Nanhui Dongtan has been continuously planned and even "rented" into a pond of fish and crabs, so the space suitable for birds has seriously shrunk, and the number of migratory birds has decreased by two-thirds compared with the same period in previous years. Recently, an even bigger piece of bad news came: at the beginning of next spring, nearly 7000 mu of land, including the core areas of most bird habitats, will be reclaimed to grow rice.

According to reports, as early as many years ago, part of the land in Nanhui Dongtan wetland game reserve has been contracted to aquaculture farmers by local relevant departments. As a result, in the north of wooden plank road, a large number of wetlands have been used to cultivate fish, shrimp and crab. This year, in the south of wooden plank road, many foreign people have begun to release fish fry in the wetland. After the wetland turned into a fish pond, the water level was too high for waterbirds to inhabit, and a large number of fish fry were put into the wetland, gnawing a lot of water plants, resulting in no food for birds. When the fish and crabs are ripe, the fishermen directly drain the water, and large areas of wetlands dry up.

The greater threat to Nanhui Dongtan also comes from the continuous land development. Within the 122.5 square kilometers of game reserve, the number of reed in wetland is decreasing, while the industrial development and farmland are increasing. According to China's current laws and regulations, production activities are strictly prohibited in the core area of the nature reserve, and illegal hunting of all kinds of wild animals is only prohibited in the game reserve. The laws, regulations and rules on which the planning and construction of the game reserve is based have not been set up in accordance with the social and economic standards

Chinese PinYin : Nan Hui Dong Tan Shi Di