Source: China Youth Network
From December 7 to 19 local time, the second phase meeting of the 15th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Montreal, Canada, referred to as COP15 Phase II meeting. At this meeting, the "Global Biodiversity Framework after 2020" will be signed. The
framework is formulated around the main goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity. In addition to the phased goals for 2030 and the long-term goals for 2050, there are more than 20 small action goals, covering the factors that are most closely related to biodiversity, such as ecosystem protection, land use, pollution reduction, and control of alien species invasion.
Wetlands: 96% of China's freshwater resources can be stored
to understand biodiversity. Today we are focusing on wetland ecosystem . When it comes to wetlands, many friends may not know much about how important is the wetland ecosystem to the earth? Why is it called the "kidney of the earth"?
Is wetland a land covered by water? In a narrow sense, wetlands are transitional areas between land and water, such as swamps, mudflats, rice fields, shallow sea areas, etc.; in a broad sense, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs can all be considered wetlands.
According to statistics, 96% of the total freshwater resources available in China exist in wetlands. Not only that, wetlands, which account for 6% of the global land area, provide a living environment for 20% of known species on the earth, so wetlands are also called "species gene bank".
In addition, wetlands have a more well-known title: "The Kidney of the Earth". This is because it can precipitate and filter toxic and harmful substances in water, and play a role in purifying water sources and improving water pollution.
China is one of the countries with complete types and abundant wetlands in the world. The wetland area accounts for 10% of the world's wetlands, ranking first in Asia and fourth in the world. In recent years, the central government has invested nearly 10 billion yuan, and wetland protection has begun to show results. Up to now, China has established 901 National Wetland Park and many wetland protection communities, effectively protecting 2.4 million hectares of wetlands. On June 1, 2022, the " Wetland Protection Law of the People's Republic of China " was officially implemented. China is the second country in the world to make special legislation on wetland protection.
In the past ten years, the area of newly added or restored wetlands nationwide has increased by about 8,000 square kilometers. Among them, the area of the internationally important wetland in China has increased by 5,257 square kilometers between 2017 and 2020 alone.
Magical Wetland: What tree is "tidal tree"?
Looking at the earth from outer space, blue is water and green is land. Blue and green meet to form a wetland. Wetlands are the embrace of water and the earth, forming some amazing wetland wonders.
is at the mouth of the Yellow River . Looking down from the sky, the tide grooves are like towering trees growing on the beach. People gave it a nice name "Tidal Tree". "Tidal Tree" is a painting of earth formed by the sea constantly eroding the land under the influence of the moon's gravity. The oceans and the mainland have left their microbial amino acids and protein in tide groove . When the two major ecosystems use the tide groove to complete material exchange, the "scar" becomes the tree of life. The youngest land, which breeds the most complete and typical estuary wetland ecosystem, provides new transit stations, wintering grounds and breeding grounds for migratory birds trekking thousands of miles from East Asia-Australia and the Western Pacific bird migration route.
Professor Bi Naishuang of the School of Marine Earth Sciences, Ocean University of China: Since the Yellow River entered the sea, nearly 10 billion tons of sediment have accumulated in this area, providing a very important material basis for the formation of trenches.
Magical Wetland: Liaohekou Wetland Red Beach
The best way to open Panjin Liaohekou Wetland is color. After autumn every year, 90,000 mu of salt land alkali begins to become fiery red, forming a red coastline. They illuminate hope for other populations by "burning" themselves.
Panjin Liaohekou Wetland is located at the northernmost end of Bohai . Five rivers including Liaohe , Hunhe , Daling River , and Daling River enter the sea from here. The vast black soil is cut into waters, mudflats and swamps.Unlike imagination, swamps are not death traps. Fresh water and salt water are flooded with each other to create a new ecology. The abundant nutrients from the mainland ocean allow animal husbandry and farming to be carried out here. In spring, salty and alkaline are growing on the ground. This annual herb can eat 400 kilograms of salt per mu per year.
Panjin Forestry and Wetland Protection Management Bureau Senior Agronomist Wang Jinshuang: Alkali pineapple shows a red state, which is directly related to (soil) salinity. When the salinity is between 6 and 10,000 and 10,000, the alkaline wool will gradually turn from green to red, between 10 and 16,000. This salinity ensures that the alkaline wool remains red. In spring, the leaves of the Alkali grass are relatively small and grow shorter. When the plants grow bigger in autumn, the branches and leaves are also lush, so the scenery is very spectacular when you see it in autumn.
Magical Wetland: "Living Fossils" of the plant world Peat Moss
Dajiuhu in Shennongjia, Hubei, is a typical alpine wetland in my country. The water level of Dajiu Lake has remained stable for many years, and it will neither break out of floods nor dry out to the bottom whether it is the rainy summer or the most water-deficient winter. What is the mystery?
Scientists have found that the secret lies in the dwarf plant growing by the lake - peat moss. Peat moss is a very unique species that originated in the late Paleozoic Permian period and dated 295 million to 250 million years ago, so it is called a living fossil in the plant world. Peat moss mostly grows in alpine wetlands with good ecology. Its blades are small, only 1.6mm long and less than 1mm wide, smaller than 1/10 of our little fingernails. But they are very capable and have very strong water absorption. It can absorb 25 times the weight of your body.
peat moss is like a sponge. Whenever the rain is abundant, it can transport water to the inside for storage; and when the surrounding humidity drops, it will release moisture through transpiration and . Many peat mosses gather together to lay a huge water storage meadow for the Dajiu Lake Wetland, and also lock the mystery of the ever-year climate change of the Dajiu Lake Wetland in itself, giving birth to the Dajiu Lake Wetland to become the only well-preserved subtropical subalpine peat moss wetland in the same latitude in the world, providing clean drinking water for the animal elves living in Shennongjia .
Not only that, peat moss also has unique carbon sequestration and carbon storage capabilities. It is known as the "effective ecosystem engineer" of peatland , contributing up to 50% of organic carbon, dominating the health and development of peatland ecosystem. Dajiu Lake provides nutrients for peat moss, which balances the ecology of Dajiu Lake, creating a legend of wetlands that is mutually reborn and accompanying.
Protect the "Kidney of the Earth". China is in action. In order to protect the "Kidney of the Earth", the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Natural Resources recently jointly issued the "National Wetland Protection Plan (2022-2030)". The "Plan" is based on the current situation of wetland resources in my country, clarifying the overall requirements, spatial layout and key tasks of wetland protection in my country, and proposes that by 2025, the national wetland ownership will be generally stable, and the wetland protection rate will reach 55%. All localities have implemented the requirements of the "Plan", and carried out wetland restoration scientifically in light of the current actual situation, and continuously improved the quality and function of the wetland ecosystem.
As the only city in the southwest region of to receive the title of " International Wetland City ", Liangping District, Chongqing is speeding up ecological rehydration of small and micro wetlands these days, and at the same time clearing out alien species and weeds from the wetlands to ensure that migratory birds coming here to spend the winter have a good habitat.
Chongqing Liangping District Wetland Protection Center Yu Xianhuai: In view of the construction and protection of bird habitats, we have been expanding the unmanned areas to leave enough space for bird activities. It is strictly prohibited to use motor boats to clear the water for drifting, or to engage in other activities that interfere with birds. These have been included in the management measures for wetland park .
In recent years, Liangping District of Chongqing has established a wetland protection expert committee to carry out water system connectivity, river barrier cleaning, dredging, grass planting and slope protection within the urban area, and has built 400 small and micro wetlands with their own characteristics. Now, the wetland resources in in Liangping District, have nearly 20,000 hectares, and the wetland rate has reached 11%. Small and micro wetlands have become an important means for local ecology restoration and development of rural tourism.
Deputy Director of the Wetland Protection Center of Liangping District, Chongqing City Jiang Qibo: Promote the "small and micro wetland +" model throughout the district, actively explore new paths to realize the value of wetland ecological products, and make "small and micro wetland +" a city's scenery, industry booster and homestop for nostalgia.
In the past few days, the 12,000-acre lake island ecological improvement project of Hengshui Lake " North China Pearl" is being concluded. In the past, the vegetation of lakes and islands was sparse, which was not conducive to the reproduction and survival of birds. After the project was completed, a lake forest ecosystem with reasonable structure and stable functions could be built to create a good living environment for birds.
Wu Junmei, Deputy Director of the Resource Management Bureau of Binhu New District, Hengshui City, Hebei Province: In addition, we have transformed the concrete slope protection of Hengshui Lake, using gabion net stones, plus plant planting, and finally formed a permeable and near-natural ecological slope protection, enriching and improving the regional ecological environment and creating more habitats for birds.
In Xinghu National Wetland Park in Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province, staff have also been working hard to remove weeds and replant aquatic plants recently. In order to prevent the water waves from shaking the shallows and destroying the birds' habitat, the staff also carefully built pine stakes by the water.
Guangdong Province Scientific Research and Education Department Director of Xinghu National Wetland Park Management Center, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province: (Ensure) There is a relatively independent water area that provides a safe and stable environment for birds. There are also some berries on the Bird Island, which provides birds with rich ingredients and meets the overwintering conditions for birds to reproduce and survive here.
Poyang Lake : Actively respond to migratory bird migration season after severe drought
Broadly speaking, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs can all be considered wetlands. Poyang Lake is the largest freshwater lake in my country.
The extreme drought weather since this summer, the dead period of Poyang Lake is more than 100 days earlier than in previous years. Water levels have reached historically lows, and migratory bird habitats have been shrinking. As winter begins, a large number of migratory birds migrating south come. What to eat? Jiangxi has taken a variety of measures to ensure that the arrival of migratory birds have passed the winter safely.
Duchang County Zhupao Mountain Disc-shaped Lake is a seasonal lake that has been exposed after the main lake area of Poyang Lake has dried up. Every year, tens of thousands of swans fly over the winter. However, due to the drought this year, many migratory birds used for feeding have dried up to death on a large scale. In order to restore the wetland function of the Dish-shaped Lake as soon as possible, the local area took advantage of Zhupao Mountain's approach to the main channel and continuously pumped water into the Dish-shaped Lake since September. The current water level has been increased by 40 cm and the area exceeds 860 acres.
Duchang County Migratory Bird Nature Reserve Administration Bureau Li Yue: The wetland under our feet was dry and cracked before before watering. Now we step on it, it is wet and sticky, and it has grown one after another. These grasses complement each other and water, which happens to be a habitat that migratory birds like very much.
In order to make the food rations of migratory birds more abundant, the local area has put a large number of small fish into the lake, and at the same time, it has repaired and cultivated the original biological species in the Poyang Lake area to alleviate the problem of reducing the food source of migratory birds.
For farmland where migratory birds are relatively concentrated foraging, various places along Poyang Lake purchase at the agreed price to transform the farmland into a "migratory bird canteen". Ecological compensation is carried out in accordance with the principle of "make up as much as you lose".
Associate Professor, School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University: On the one hand, Jiangxi has issued the management measures for ecological compensation benefit projects in Jiangxi Province; on the second hand, the government has also reserved rice fields and lotus fields in many places through redemption, which is exclusively for migratory birds to eat, effectively alleviating the conflict between local residents and migratory birds.
Birdwatching season is coming. The "magic elf" under the lens is now the time for migratory birds to migrate south, and it is also the most beautiful bird watching season of the year. Let us follow the photographer's lens and appreciate these magical elfs flying between heaven and earth.
Among the global migratory bird migration routes, the East Asia-Australia migratory flight path is the busiest and has the most birds. Jiangsu Yancheng Wetland is located in the center of this passage and is a "service area" and "gas station" for migratory birds. Ecological photographer Li Dongming is a bird watching enthusiast. These days, as long as he is fine, he will carry his camera and come to the tiaozimu wetland in Yancheng to watch and shoot birds.
In Li Dongming's lens, there are only more than 600 extremely dangerous species in the world, spoon-billed sandpiper , no more than 1,000 small green sank , Zhendan stork , Oriental white stork , little swan, etc., and even flamingo , which originally belonged to the tropical region.
These days, the temperature in Poyang Lake has dropped sharply, and north winds of level 4-5 have also blew. However, in the shoals, Caozhou and other places in the Nanji Wetland National Nature Reserve, some migratory birds are still circling and flying everywhere.
As the largest habitat for wintering migratory birds in Asia, there are as many as 700,000 migratory birds coming to Poyang Lake to spend the winter every year. More than 98% of the world's white crane , more than 70% of the white crane , more than 80% of the oriental white storks, and more than 60% of the Hongyan are overwintering here. Today, there are 111 species of birds monitored in the field of Poyang Lake.
Henan Sanmenxia is the only urban swan habitat in mainland my country. As the weather gradually became colder, a large number of swans flew back to the Sanmenxia Yellow River Wetland to spend the winter and live.
According to statistics, tens of thousands of swans have arrived in Sanmenxia, and the number has reached two-thirds of the total in previous years. Sanmenxia Yellow River Wetland has developed into the largest core swan protection area in the country. Other wild birds have increased from 175 species before the establishment of the reserve to 279 species now; wild plant has increased from 743 species to 1121 species now.
(Central Taiwan reporters Jiang Xiaoping Xu Dawei Yang Ping Li Gang Zheng Yukai Liang Liming Wang Chen Henan Taiwan Sanmenxia Taiwan Yancheng Taiwan)
Source: CCTV News Client
