Wetland ecosystem status and restoration using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EWE) model

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.12.128
• Publication Date: 2018-12-12T02:38:59Z
• Authors: Chun-hua Li; Yi Xian; Chun Ye; Yan-hua Wang; Wei-wei Wei; Hai-yan Xi; Bing-hui Zheng
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; China; Food Chain; 13. Climate action; Wetlands; Biodiversity; Models, Theoretical; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences; 6. Clean water; Environmental Monitoring

With increasing awareness of the importance of wetlands, the number of new or restored wetlands in China is steadily growing; however, not all of them fulfill their expected ecological function. Maintaining wetlands in their optimal state is an urgent problem that requires research into the ecosystem evaluation, regulation, and biomass management of wetlands. The Ecopath with Ecosim (EWE) model, also known as the ecological channel model, is a balance model that can directly construct the ecological system structure and describe its energy flow and mass transfer through the principle of nutrition dynamics. Here, the EWE model is applied to determine the ecosystem status of a newly restored wetland, Zhushanhu wetland, in the Lake Tai buffer zone of Zhushan Bay, and evaluate the current ecological regulations and biomass control measures. Our results provide theoretical and scientific support for the management and maintenance of wetland ecological restorations.