Oceans, forests, wetlands, and known as the earth's three major ecosystems. Among them, wetlands are known as the "kidneys of the earth" because of their powerful ecological functions. Today is the 25th World Wetlands Day, and the theme of World Wetlands Day 2021 is "Wetlands and water are interdependent with life".
Today, let's walk into Jiuduansha and explore this "last virgin land of Shanghai" together.
Shanghai Jiuduansha Wetland National Nature Reserve, located at the confluence of the Yangtze River estuary and the East China Sea, is across the water from Pudong and Hengsha Island respectively, with a total area of about 420.2 square kilometers, known as "Shanghai's last virgin land", is an important ecological barrier in Shanghai and even the Yangtze River Delta region.
As of 2019, the cumulative monitoring results show that there are 61 species of higher plants, 510 species of insects, 115 species of macrobenthic animals, 135 species of fish, 214 species of birds of 18 orders and 48 families, of which 3 species of national first-level protected birds include oriental white storks, white-headed cranes and widowed gulls; and 24 species of second-level protected birds include cygnets, black-faced spoonbills, and yellow-billed egrets.
In the 2019 Jiudan sand base monitoring, 9 new species were found, including 2 species of higher plants, 3 species of benthic animals, and 4 species of birds. Let's take a look at it
Higher
Spicy Tateshina [liǎo]
Jiudan sha new record species spicy indigo
Annual herb, 40–70 cm tall; lanceolate or oval lanceolate leaf; panicle-shaped, inflorescences are spike-shaped, flowers are 5 deeply lobed, sparsely 4 lobed, green, upper white or reddish; lean fruit ovate; raw river beaches, ditches, valley wetlands.
Shi Longrui
Jiudan Shaxin record species Shi Longrui
Ranunculaceae annual herb, 10–50 cm tall, kidney-like round leaves with 3 deep lobes, polygonal inflorescence, petals 5, yellow, polygonal fruit oblong, very lean fruit, grown in ditches and plain wetlands.
Benthic animals
Broad-tailed whipping water lice and concave-tailed rod whip lice
Broad-tailed whip lice
Concave-tailed rod whipped water lice
They belong to the arthropod phylum, crustacean subphylum, soft-onch, isopoda, gill lice and all-jawed water lice, both of which are new Chinese record species discovered by the research team of East China Normal University in 2013 and 2017 at the mouth of the Yangtze River, respectively, and these two species are typical estuarine species.
Knife-fronted new shrimp
Nine-dansha new record species knife-fronted new shrimp
The soft-bellied order P. codosaur family has a yellow to tan body color and a brown or red swimming foot. The frontal horns are straight, knife-shaped, and the females have slightly upward curved ends. It is mainly distributed in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong and Guangxi coastal areas in China, and has high economic value.
birds
In addition, in 2019, the annual basic monitoring recorded a total of four new record species of birds in Shanghai Jiuduansha Wetland National Nature Reserve: quail, crested wheat chicken, grey-backed falcon and blackbird.
quail
Quail (Image from The Field Manual of Chinese Birds)
It belongs to the genus Quail of the pheasant family. Small in size, grey-brown. Its natural habitats are low hills , meadows and more wooded stony areas. It feeds mainly on young shoots and seeds, but also eats insects.
Crested wheat chicken
Nine-dansha new record species crested wheat chicken
It belongs to the genus Plover [héng] family, and is a medium-sized wader. The top of the head has slender, slightly curved black crown feathers, which resemble the corners protruding from the top of the head, which are very eye-catching. It often inhabits wetlands, ponds, canals, swamps, etc., and likes to eat locusts, frogs, small invertebrates, plant seeds, etc.
Grey-backed falcon[sǔn]
Grey-backed Falcon (Image from The Field Manual of Chinese Birds)
It belongs to the falcon genus Falcon family and is a small bird of prey. The tail feathers have broad black subterranous spots and narrower white ends. The hind neck is blue-grey with a tan collar, and the back of adult males is blue with black spots, which is a unique feature. Its natural habitats are open low hills, foothill plains, forest plains, coastal and forest tundra, particularly forest edges, clearings, rocks and open areas with sparse trees. It feeds mainly on small animals such as insects and rodents. It is a national second-level protected animal in China.
Squid [dōng]
Crow (Image from The Field Manual of Chinese Birds)
It belongs to the genus Thrush in the family Plover. The male is black except for the yellow eye and beak. Females and chicks have no yellow eyes and brown feathers and beak. It inhabits woodlands and is an omnivorous bird whose diet includes insects , earthworms , seeds and berries.
Jiuduansha Wetland National Nature Reserve
It is a paradise for wetland wildlife
Law enforcement protection efforts
For the life of the "new residents" of Kudansha
Provide strong support and guarantee
Maintaining the stability of the ecosystem
May more wetland spirits rest and make their home in Jiuduan Sand!
Wetland trivia
Origin of World Wetlands Day
On 2 February 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (the Convention on Wetlands), was signed in Ramsar, Iran. In order to commemorate this initiative and raise public awareness of wetland conservation, the 19th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on Wetlands in 1996 decided that from 1997 onwards, 2 February each year would be designated as World Wetlands Day, and a different theme would be identified each year.
Definition of wetlands
Under the Convention on Wetlands, wetlands are natural or artificial, permanent or temporary marshes, peatlands and waters containing static or flowing, fresh or brackish water bodies, including areas of seawater with a depth of less than 6 metres at low tide.
The role of wetlands
1. Provide water source
Wetlands are often used as water sources for domestic use, industrial production and agricultural irrigation. There is directly usable water in streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. Other wetlands, such as peat swamp forests, can serve as water sources for shallow wells.
2. Replenish groundwater
Much of the water we use is extracted from the ground, and wetlands can replenish water for underground aquifers. Water from wetlands to aquifers can be part of a groundwater system and can also provide water for the production of workers and peasants in the surrounding areas. If wetlands are destroyed or disappear, water cannot be supplied to the aquifer and groundwater resources are reduced.
3. Regulate the flow and control the flood
Wetlands are huge reservoirs that can store excess precipitation during heavy rains and river surges, release runoff evenly, and reduce floods that harm downstream, so protecting wetlands is to protect natural water storage systems.
4. Preserve nutrients
When the water flows through the wetland, the nutrients contained in it are absorbed by the wetland vegetation or accumulate in the wetland mud layer, purifying the downstream water source. Nutrients in wetlands support fish and shrimp, woods, wildlife and wetland crops.
5. Prevent salt water intrusion
Fresh water flowing outward from wetlands such as swamps, rivers, and streams limits the recharge of seawater, and coastal vegetation helps prevent tidal water from flowing into rivers.
6. Provide available resources
Wetlands can give us a variety of products, including wood, medicinal herbs, pasture, fruits, reeds, etc., and can also provide a variety of energy uses such as water and electricity, peat and firewood.
Responsible Editor Liu Wanxin
Source Pudong Release