Tracking the rapid loss of tidal wetlands in the Yellow Sea. Issue 5 (8th May 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Murray, Nicholas J; Clemens, Robert S; Phinn, Stuart R; Possingham, Hugh P; Fuller, Richard A
• Is Part Of: Frontiers in ecology and the environment. Volume 12:Issue 5(2014)
• Page Start: 267
• Page End: 272
• Publication Date: 2014-05-08
• Subjects: Ecology -- Periodicals; Environmental sciences -- Periodicals; Ecology; Environmental sciences; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 577.05
• DOI: 10.1890/130260
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1540-9295

Abstract

Abstract : In the Yellow Sea region of East Asia, tidal wetlands are the frontline ecosystem protecting a coastal population of more than 60 million people from storms and sea‐level rise. However, unprecedented coastal development has led to growing concern about the status of these ecosystems. We developed a remote‐sensing method to assess change over ~4000 km of the Yellow Sea coastline and discovered extensive losses of the region's principal coastal ecosystem – tidal flats – associated with urban, industrial, and agricultural land reclamations. Our analysis revealed that 28% of tidal flats existing in the 1980s had disappeared by the late 2000s (1.2% annually). Moreover, reference to historical maps suggests that up to 65% of tidal flats were lost over the past five decades. With the region forecast to be a global hotspot of urban expansion, development of the Yellow Sea coastline should pursue a course that minimizes the loss of remaining coastal ecosystems.