Wetland Reclamation and Habitat Damage Assessment in Jiaozhou Bay
基于生境等价分析法的胶州湾湿地围垦生态损害评估

Assessing habitat damage resulting from wetland reclamation is important for developing marine ecological damage compensation policy. The process of reclamation in Jiaozhou Bay has become increasingly serious in recent decades, and has affected the ecological environment and wetland habitats. Here, we summarize relevant research in this field and introduce habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) to the Chinese research community. The two main indicators in this assessment are biological diversity and the ability of water quality clarification. Using HEA we found that the area of wetland reclamation in Jiaozhou Bay is 2264 hm2 and the level of habitat damage is approximately 54.5%. By planting salt marshes as a form of restoration and where the service level is equivalent to that of the damaged area, the scale of the restoration project should be 358 hm2 to achieve initial habitat service levels of filled wetlands. With reference to the average public value of different ocean ecosystem services, the habitat service damage is worth 42.64 million CNY per year. Whether the services provided by the restoration project match losses caused by reclamation requires further study. Sensitivity analysis on the discount rate and the time required to reach base service levels should now be examined.