Ecological impact of land reclamation on Jiangsu coast(China):A novel ecotope assessment for Tongzhou Bay

China’s continuous and rapid economic growth has led to the reclamation of large sections of the intertidal mud coast in combination with port construction,such as that of the proposed Tongzhou Bay port on the Jiangsu coast.These reclamations threaten the local ecosystem services.An ecotope distribution map was created and a hydrodynamic numerical model of Tongzhou Bay was set up to quantify the impacts of reclamation on the ecosystem.Based on the field data and model results,several abiotic features were classified into 11 ecotopes and visualized in an ecotope map of the Tongzhou Bay ecosystem.Validation with spatial distributions of two threatened shorebird species(bar-tailed godwit and great knot) showed confirmation with the mid-range and low-range littoral zones(inundated from 40% to 100% of a tidal cycle),indicating the importance of the areas with these conditions to these populations.Overlaying the ecotope map with recent and proposed land reclamation schemes revealed a loss of ecotopes,composed of the high-range(42%),mid-range(48%),and low-range(38%) littoral habitats,corresponding to a 44%-45% loss of the most important ecotopes for bar-tailed godwit and great knot(mid-range and low-range littoral zones).These results confirm the applicability of the novel ecotope assessment approach in practice.

Biogenetic Linkage among Ecotopes within Matera-Sassi (Italy) Habitat

In the management of UNESCO cultural sites of significant environmental importance, the erroneous assumption that the environment is independent of biological heritage often prevails. The mapping of phylogenetic resources in the ancient city Matera-Sassi (MS) and the multivariable analysis at the level of ecotope and habitat have made it possible to identify the consistency of the plant genetic heritage and the biogenetic associations between the different ecotopes through the species they host. The bioclimatic variables and geomorphology of MS define an ecological niche refuge for rare or absent species in the surrounding landscape (e.g., Campanula versicolor L., Centranthus ruber (L.) Dc., Capparis spinosa L., Cymbalaria muralis Hill, Crepis spp., Lavathera arborea L.) The total floristic capital in MS amounts to 190 species belonging to 59 different botanical families;80% are native species and only 4% are invasive. About half are Mediterranean with a moderate presence (17%) of cosmopolitan and sub-cosmopolitan;5% are endemic species. Autogenic ecotopes (Type I) represented by “Pleistocene limestone” and “House wall” contribute to the variation of total biodiversity through Endemic species mainly Chamephytes;anthropogenic ecotopes (Type III) such as “Garden” and “Town boundary” with Archaeophytes and exotic Neophytes mainly Phanerophytes;while “Humid margins” and mixed ecotopes (Type II) are linked to feral species and mainly to hemi-cryptophytes and therophytes. Minimum spanning tree of the habitat features traced by the floristic biological heritage is consistent with the pedogenetic relationships between primary mother rocks, their derived ecotopes and anthropogenic impacts. Ecotope ranking based on its biodiversity value indicates that appropriate simultaneous conservation of both genetic resources and human works is achievable.