In 2020, because the Shanghai-Suzhou Lake high-speed railway crossed the Wujiang River in Suzhou, part of the wetland was occupied, and a balance project was needed. In 2021, entrusted by the implementation unit Jiangsu Hengtong Hehai Technology Co., Ltd., Liu Wenjie, an expert engaged in ecological assessment, design and guidance for the implementation of major projects at Hohai University, brought colleagues from the Institute of Ecology of the Design Institute of Hohai University to Zhenze to guide the local restoration and protection of native biodiversity.
Launch a "defense war" by land, water and air
At 3 p.m. in August, the scorching sun, when the reporter met Liu Wenjie, he was braving the scorching heat to check the growth of plants in the aquatic vascular germplasm resource bank. The resource bank he and his colleagues built last year, located in the northern part of Zhong'anqiao Village, looks overgrown with grass and looks like untended ponds, but it is actually Liu Wenjie's "treasure".
"This is the water fern, which is a national second-class protected plant. Water ferns used to be widely distributed in the Jiangnan area, but now they are rare in the wild. Liu Wenjie pointed to one of the water ferns and told reporters that these were not collected, but naturally grown after they built an aquatic vascular germplasm resource bank here. This also shows that the aquatic plant diversity in this area is very good, and we have more work to discover them and protect them. Liu Wenjie said.
In order to concentrate and expand the seed source of aquatic plants, the aquatic vascular germplasm resource bank began to be established in 2021, and there are nearly 50 species of native aquatic vascular plants collected, of which 3 are national second-class protected plants. "The main thing is to restore native aquatic plants in the Yangtze River Delta region in the future." Liu Wenjie said that the market is now full of a large number of landscape plants, as well as some alien species, "We just want to provide native aquatic plant germplasm resources for the Yangtze River Delta region, and not in the future, when biodiversity is restored, most of the implementers can choose to be landscape-cultivated or some alien species." ”
Bird habitat
Another thing Liu Wenjie and his team are doing is building bird habitats. The bird habitat is located near the aquatic vascular germplasm resource bank, with native waterbird breeding area, migratory bird feeding area, wetland biological corridor area and ecological education area, which can provide breeding and feeding places for native waterbirds. In addition, relying on the protection function of Changyang aquatic resources germplasm, Liu Wenjie also led the team to build a fish spawning ground in Banjitan, Qixin Village, near Changyang Lake, to ensure the restoration of fish stocks and biodiversity, so as to protect the ecological health of the spawning ground of fish species. "Spawning grounds mainly include fish feeding areas, spawning areas and refuge areas." Liu Wenjie introduced.
Biodiversity restoration has been effective
In October 2021, after Liu Wenjie and his team came to Zhenze, he immediately launched the project of "Requisitioning and Occupying Wetland Ecological Restoration and Sustainable Operation and Maintenance Services", and after nearly a year of efforts, the three projects of "water, land and air" were completed in 2022, allowing the wetland area adjacent to Changyang to restore the natural appearance of water and fish fertilizer in the past.
"Today's fish habitat environment in Banyatan has been significantly improved, fish frolic scenes can be seen everywhere, and more importantly, due to the increasingly healthy aquatic ecosystem, the original phenomenon of cyanobacteria in summer has been completely eliminated this year." Liu Wenjie happily told reporters that the 80 acres of fish pond transformed bird habitat and aquatic vascular germplasm resource bank have now formed a wetland biological gathering area, including many national-level protected animals and plants, "There are 6 species of plants recorded worldwide, and 5 species distributed on the mainland, and we have collected them all." In the aquatic vascular germplasm resource bank, Liu Wenjie pointed to different forms and colors of pickles and introduced them to reporters one by one, he proudly said that last autumn and winter, they found more than 20 kinds of migratory birds in bird habitats, and more than 10 pairs of nesting water birds have successfully bred in bird habitats this spring.
Fish spawning grounds
Liu Wenjie is a "post-80s" who has been engaged in water ecological restoration and protection after graduating from Nanjing Normal University. He told reporters that in the 50s of last century, there were more than 60 species of native aquatic plants distributed in Taihu Lake, but in 2018 it was reduced to about 20 species. "At that time, cyanobacteria were frequent in the lakes around Lake Taihu, and water hyacinths and water peanuts could be seen everywhere." Liu Wenjie said they hope to restore the community system to pre-industrial levels in the 70s by collecting, preserving and expanding the aquatic plant population around Lake Taihu.
"In recent years, our country has paid more and more attention to ecological environmental protection and promoted biodiversity conservation to a new level, and the basis of biodiversity restoration is species." Liu Wenjie believes that seeking a balance between artificial restoration and natural restoration is the best solution for ecological restoration, and what they are doing is to find and protect species, and then guide aquatic ecosystems back to a state dominated by natural restoration.
Wetlands are places and carriers for biodiversity conservation. Liu Wenjie's next step will be to lead the team to promote the 80-mu fish pond remediation experience in wetlands, rivers, lakes and other places in Zhenze Town on the basis of the completion of the artificial restoration of the wetland balance project, so that the overall ecosystem of the town can be restored to the healthy state before the 70s of last century, so that the green water and green mountains can be better transformed into gold and silver mountains.
People and water are harmonious, beautiful and beautiful
"The local villagers often give us some home-grown vegetables, which is very friendly." Liu Wenjie said. In October 2021, he and his colleagues officially settled in Zhong'anqiao Village to guide the local wetland restoration project, and the local villagers were very friendly to their arrival, firstly, because of the local hospitality, and secondly, because of their arrival, the villagers saw the aquatic natural scene of 40 years ago, and their happiness suddenly improved. At present, the biodiversity of several rivers in Zhong'anqiao Village has been significantly improved, with abundant aquatic plants and swarms of fish and shrimp, basically restoring to the pre-industrialization water ecological state.
"We have always advocated the concept of 'harmony between people and water', first of all, to form a good interaction with the local villagers, at first the people in the village may think that we are only here to do the project, but later find that we are not only here to do the project, but also to teach them the way of life of harmony between people and water." Liu Wenjie said.
The arrival of the team not only restored the local biodiversity, but also brought tangible "harvest" to the villagers.
As aquatic plant cover and species recovered, the number of snails, river shrimp and fish in the river also increased. In order to effectively control plant cover and aquatic animal density and prevent the degradation of aquatic ecosystems, Liu Wenjie and his colleagues consulted with the village committee and villagers for many times, and finally decided to let every household along the river use 2~4 cage nets to catch fish, shrimp and snails in a reasonable and orderly manner. "It's nice to catch a lot of fish and shrimp every week, so you can add a dish to your home." Villager Uncle Li was sincerely happy with the arrival of Liu Wenjie's team, "They are here to help us do ecological restoration, now the water quality is better, the taste of fish and shrimp has become delicious, I am very grateful to Teacher Liu and them." For Liu Wenjie, the recognition of the villagers is the best reward for him.
During the implementation of the wetland ecological restoration project, Liu Wenjie also encountered many difficulties. At the beginning of last year, affected by the epidemic, considering that the construction personnel and materials could not enter the site at that time, and spring was the best season for aquatic plant restoration, in order not to affect the progress of restoration, Liu Wenjie and his colleagues ended their vacation early during the Spring Festival that year, all personnel entered the site, and the materials were solved locally, ensuring the smooth development of the project.
In the eyes of colleagues, Liu Wenjie, as the chief planner of the project, usually works conscientiously and often takes the lead in collecting aquatic plants in various places. "He drives hundreds of kilometers for a few plants, which is his work norm." Colleague Zhang Guoliang said.
Aquatic vascular bundle germplasm resource bank (photo by Jin Yao)
Wetlands have been in charge of the implementation of the recharge balance project for a total of five years, and this year has entered the second year of operation and maintenance. Liu Wenjie said that he hopes to contribute his modest efforts to the restoration and protection of biodiversity in the Yangtze River Delta region during this period, and provide a model, native seed source and governance model for ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation in the Yangtze River Delta region in the future.
"The biggest feeling of coming here is that it makes people calm, my understanding of nature continues to deepen, and my work state has changed from the original 'from books to drawings' to the process of 'from nature to drawings to nature'." Liu Wenjie told reporters that during this time, they have collected typical native aquatic plants in the Taihu Lake Basin one by one, fulfilling his dream for ten years. Source: Suzhou Wujiang District Rong Media Center Author: Shen Lifen Wang Enqing Media Selection Editor: Li Junfeng (Well-known cultural media person, new media operator, senior photographer)