Mangroves of China: a brief review

Fores;;;ology Management ELWVIER

Forest Ecology

and Management

96 (1997)

241-259

Mangroves of China: a brief review MS. Li, S.Y. Lee * Department

of Ecology

and Biodiversity

and The &ire

Institute of Marine Science, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Received

30 October

The UniversiQ

of Hong Kong, Pokfulam

Road,

1996

Abstract The distribution, ecology, conservation and management of Chinese mangroves are reviewed. Mangroves naturally occur along the southeast Chinese coast and traverse the provinces of Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Taiwan, intermittently extending from 18”N to 27”N. Thirty-seven mangrove tree species, representing 20 families and 25 genera, have been documented, with thermophilic emytopic species being the dominant components. A remarkable decrease of species richness is evident from Hainan (18-20”N) to Fujian (23.5-27”N) (35 vs. 9 species). The existing mangrove area is = 17 800 ha, accounting for slightly more than 0.1% of the world’s total. Nearly two-thirds of China’s mangroves have been lost during the past 40 years, largely due to conversion for rice-farming, embankment for aquaculture ponds and, recently, rapid urban development. A total of 201 papers on Chinese mangroves was published between 1950 and 1995, 178 of which are in Chinese; thus, they are not easily accessible to the international scientific community. Most of the work was conducted after 1985 (91% of the papers published) and research emphasized floristics with little attention to managementrelated issues. The net primary production of tbe Chinese mangroves shows a latitudinal trend, also significant deviations from predictions on models generated using non-Chinese data. Although 28 Chinese institutions have dealt with mangrove research, only five maintain long-term projects. The bulk of research has been carried out in six mangrove reserves: Qinglan, Dongzhai (Hainan), Mai PO (Hong Kong), Futian (Guangdong), Shankou (Guangxi) and Jiulongjiang (Fujian). Twelve mangrove reserves have been established so far in mainland China, one in Hong Kong (Mai PO) and one in Taiwan (Tanshui). These reserves cover an area of over 19000 ha, of which 8445 ha are mangroves (47% of existing mangrove area). Six measures that can facilitate mangrove conservation and management are recommended: (a) declare more mangrove areas as nature reserves; (b) set up a national mangrove committee and mangrove research centre to foster research and management; (c) develop concrete management guidelines; (d) enact protective legislation and ensure its strict enforcement; (e) launch education programmes in the major mangrove reserves; and (f) stop further nonsustainable exploitation of mangroves and their habitats. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. Keywords:

Biogeography;

Management;

Mangrove

conservation;

Mangrove

research;

China;

Conservation;

Mangroves;

Research

1. Introduction Mangroves are open ecosystems that straddle the land and the sea, from freshwater to seawater,often * Corresponding author present address: School of Applied Science, Griffith University Gold Coast, PMB 50 Gold Coast MC, Qld. 4217, Australia. Tel.: 61-7-55948241, Fax: 61-7-5594 8679. 0378-l 127/97/$17.00 0 1997 Elsevier PII SO378-1127(97)00054-6

Science

B.V. All rights reserved.

with distinct zones of plant and animal species. Mangroves are closely linked with the adjacent Iandward catchment

and the seaward marine

system (Ong,

242

M.S. Li. S. Y. Lee/Forest

Ecology

1995). Traditionally, mangroves have been considered as unpleasant and dangerous swamps, undervalued by governments and destroyed by developers. Indeed, mangroves seem to have a special appeal to developers of ports, marinas, real estate, agriculture, and mariculture projects (Hamilton and Snedaker, 1984). It is not until the last 20 years that humans began to recognize the valuable biodiversity resources associated with mangroves, partly because mangroves were becoming endangered in some parts of the world, and partly because more fluids became available through international agencies such as UNESCO, the World Bank, and FAO for research activities (Field, 1993). The total world mangrove area is estimated at > 170000 km* (Field, 1995) with some 17 812 ha in China representing a little more than 0.1% of the world’s total. Most international mangrove literature has, however, negligible amounts of information on China’s mangroves. Information on the Chinese mangroves is lacking even in important recent reviews (e.g., Asian Development Bank, 1992; FAO,

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96 (1997)

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1994). Some sporadic data are available from Wong and Tam, 1995. As a matter of fact, Chiti= scientists have conducted a massive amount of research on mangroves since the mid-1950s, culminating in the publication of more than 200 papers and several academic books. These papers and books are mostly in Chinese and are, therefore, not easily accessible to the international research community. The aim of this paper is primarily to present an overview of China’s mangroves: the current status, what research has been done so far, what is still unknown. the major threats, and conservation. Such information on this unique component of the West-Pacific mangroves will hopefully help provide a more comprehensive perspective of the endangered world mangrove communities. 2. Biogeography

From south to north along the coast of China, mangroves are found in the provinces of Hainan (coastline from 18-2O”N), Guangdong (including

Zhejiang

0

400

i-)y”l

km

South

China

Sea

Fig. 1. Mangrove distribution in five provinces (Hahn, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Taiwan) along the Chinese coast. The 12 e&k&g mangrove reserves are also marked (see text and Table 1 for details). Reserves on &&au island: 1 = Caiqiao; 2 = Buaeb&ng Bay; 3 = Xingyin; 4 = Xingying.

MS. Li, S.Y. Lee/Forest Table 1 Distribution

of mangrove

Family Mangrove a Rhizophoraceae

’ Acanthaceae

’ Lecythidaceae a Combretaceae b Euphorbiaceae b Meliaceae b Myrsinaceae a Palmae b Rubiaceae ’ Sonneratiaceae

b Sterculiaceae a Avicenniaceae

Semi-mangrove b Acrostichaceae ’ Apocynaceae ’ Bignoniaceae ’ Compositae ’ Hemandiaceae ’ Leguminosae b Lythraceae ’ Malvaceae ’ Verbcnaceae

and semi-mangrove

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96 (1997)

241-259

243

species in China

Species Bruguiera cylindrica B. gymnorrhiza B. sexangula B. s. var. rhynochopelata Ceriops tagal Kandelia candel Rhizophora apiculata R. stylosa R. mucronata Acanthus ebractearas A. ilicifolius A. xiamenensis Barringtonia racemosa Lumnitzera littorea L. racemosa Excoecaria agallocha Xylocatpus granatum Aegiceras comiculatum Nypa fruticans Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea Sonneratia alba S. caseolaris S. hainanensis S. ovata Heritiera littoralis Avicennia marina Subtotal

Acrostichum aureum A. speciosum Cerbera manghas Dolichandron spathacea Pluchea indica Hemandia Sonora Pongamia pinnata Pemphis acidula Hibiscus tiliaceus Thespesia populnea Premna obtusifolia Subtotal

Ecology

Life-form

HN

GD

HK

MC

GX

FJ

+

+

+

+

+

+ +

+

+

+ +

+

+

R

+ +

+

+

+ +

+ +

+

+

+

+ + 11

+ + + + +

TW

+ T T T T T T T T S S S T S/T S/T T T S P S T T T T T T

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 24

F F T T S T S S/T S/T S/T S

+ + + + + + + + + + + 11

+ + +

+ + + +

T = Tree, S = Shrub, P = Palm, F = Fern, R = Recorded, but not found recently. HN = Hainan Island, GD = Guangdong Province, HK = Hong Kong, MC = Macau, TW = Taiwan. Categories of Tomlinson (1986) are noted. a Major elements of mangal. b Minor elements of mangal. ’ Mangrove associates.

+

+ +

+

+ +

+

+

+

+

+ + 9

+ 5

+

+ 7

+ + 11

+

+

+

+

f

+

10

+ +

+ -I-

+ + + + 9

+ +

+ +

+ +

4

4

GX = Guangxi

+ + -t5

Province,

+

2

FJ = Fujian

+ + + + + 8

Province,

244

MS. Li, S. Y. Lee/Forest

Table 2 Number of mangrove studies

species in China as recorded

by various

No. of families

No. of genera

No. of species

Source

12 16 24 20

15 20 36 25

24 31 47 37

Chen and Lin, 1980 Lin. 1987 Gao, 1988 Lin and Fu, 1995

Ecology

past

Hong Kong and Macau, 20-23.5”N), Guangxi (21 .YN), Taiwan (22-25”N) and Fujian (23.5-27”N) (Fig. 1). There are no mangroves occurring naturally in Zhejiang province (27-31”N). Only one species, Kandelia candel, was transplanted in the 1950s to Zhejiang, and most of it have been destroyed now by human disturbance with only 8 ha still remaining in the province (see below). There are 26 true mangrove species and 11 semi-mangrove species in China (Tables 1 and 2; there are considerable differences in the classification schemes of mangroves adopted by Chinese researchers compared with that in prevalent literature, e.g., Tomlinson, 1986. We do not intend to explore the distinction here but to refer to the schemes of both Lin and Fu, 1995 and Tomlinson, 1986 (where appropriate), representing for = 45% of all mangrove species in the world (83 species in total, Saenger et al., 1983). Of the 37 species, three main ecological types can be found, namely, (a) the comparatively cold-resistant eurytopic species, e.g., K. candel, Avicennia marina and Aegiceras corniculatum; (b) cold-intolerant (thermophilic) stenotopic species, e.g., Rhizophora mucronata, R. apiculata, Lumnitzora littorea, Nypa fruticans and Pemphis acidula; and (c) thermophilic eurytopic species, e.g., R. stylosa, Bruguiera sexangula, B. gyminorrhiza, Excoecaria agallocha and Acrostichum aureum (Zhang and Lin, 1984). Thermophilic eurytopic species are the dominant components of China’s mangroves, representing about two-thirds of the total mangrove assemblage (Zhang and Lin, 1984). Hainan has the highest mangrove species richness (24 species of true mangroves and 11 species of semi-mangroves) and the best developed mangrove forests, with a maximum tree height of 15 m. With increasing latitude, species diversity decreases and the mangroves become less well-developed. Guangdong,

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96 (1997)

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Guangxi, Taiwan and Fujian have species number of 20, 15, 19 and 9 (including both true mangrove and semi-mangrove species). respectively. Fuding (27”20’N, Fujian Province: minimum monthly mean temperature at 8.4”C in January) is the northern limit of natural mangrove distribution in China. Only one species (K. candel) is present and the average tree height is < 2 m (Lin and Fu, 1995). Similarity between the floristic composition of the five provinces is presented in Fig. 2. Values of the similarity index reveal that Guangdong and Guangxi are most closely tied floristically, whereas Hainan Island, with the peak of mangrove distribution in China, is most floristically distant to Fujian. the northern limit of Chinese mangrove distribution. Taiwan’s mangrove species assemblage exhibits higher similarity to those of Guangdong and Guangxi instead of Fujian, despite the latter’s proximal geographical position to Taiwan. This deviation from the latitudinal trend is a result of the influence of the warm Kuroshio Current on Taiwan, but not Fujian. According to the species composition, physiognomy and structure of the mangrove forests, eight formations can be distinguished, respectively dominated by: (a) B. sexangula-B. gymnorrhiza; (b) R. apiculata-Ceriaps tagal; cc) R. stylosa; (d) K. candel-A. comiculatum; (e) A. comiculatum; (f) A.

Fig. 2. Similarity indices calculated based on plant species occurrence data on the mangroves in the five provinces. Similarity index = number of species occurred in both provinces X 1 W/total number of species in both provinces. See Table 1 for the province names.

MS. Li, S. Y. Lee / Forest Table 3 Distribution

Ecology

and Management

96 (1997)

241-259

245

Table 3 (continued) of existing

mangrove

Location

Area (ha)

Hainan Island Haikou Qiongshan Wenchang Zhanxiang Chengmai Linggao Qionghai Wanning Lingshui Yanxiang Luodong Dongfeng Changjiang Subtotal

530 333 168 8 13 20 20 2 8

a

Location

Area (ha)

Xiamen Longhai Yunxiao Subtotal Taiwan

53 108 47 260 120

Zhejiang Luoqing Ruian Subtotal Total

Province

b

Sources

Liu, 1982 Lin and Fu, 1995

0.3 8.1 8.4 17811

a Values are presented as mangrove grove area is calculated as 80% of the b No natural mangrove was found mangrove presented was transplanted

4836

Hong Kong Macau

Fujian Province Fuding Ningde Plltian Chuanzhou

Sources Lin and Lu, 1985

Guangdong Province Xuwen Haikong Suixi Lianjiang Zhanjiang Yangjiang Taishan Dianbai Shantou Haifeng Huiyang Huidong Zhuhai Xinghui Zhongshan Dongguan Shenzhen Isolated islands Subtotal

Guangxi Province Hepu Beihai Qingzhou Fengcheng Subtotal

areas in China by province

swamp area. The real mantotal mangrove swamp area. in Zhejiang Province. The artificially in the 1950s.

Chen, 1991 333.0 206.7 93.3 33.3 5485.0 664.0 640.0 33.0 2.0 30.0 80.0 10.0 60.0 9.8 26.7 20.0 477.3 1355.3 9133.7 x 80% = 7787 276
a

Chen, 1994

Ashworth et al., 1993 Wang et al., 1988 Fan, 1995a,b

1790 117 1962 1785 5654 x 80% = 4523 Lin and Fu, 1995 20 6.7 10 15

marina-A. comiculatum; (g) Sonneratia caseolaris; and (h) Nypa fruticans. The distribution and structural features of the eight mangrove formations are detailed in Chen and Lin (1980). The total area of mangroves in China is not precisely known, although various figures have been reported. The approximate mangrove areas in the six provinces are presented in Table 3. These data are gathered from various surveys conducted at different times. As the estimates vary widely from one to another, the need for a thorough and standardized survey is evident. The total mangrove area in China is estimated to be = 17 800 ha, representing over 0.1% of the world total and 0.24% of the Asian mangrove area (74588 000 ha, including China’s mangroves; Wacharakitti, 1983).

3. Research Globally, at least 1019 papers on mangroves were published in English between 1976 and 1991, most of which were on autecology of flora (25.5%) and fauna (23.5%) in mangals (Lee, 1992a). Over half of all the studies on Asian and Oceanic mangals were on the plants, whereas, only 3% of the papers dealt with fauna (Lee, 1992a). Similar trends apply to China’s mangrove research. Mangrove research in China mostly began only in the 1950s and early studies focused on floristics. Zhang et al. (1957)

dynamics

Population

Ecophysiology Algae @hytoplankton) Zooplankton Bent&c fauna

ecology

Community

Energy flow (food web)

Zheng et al.. i995a,b,c

Zheng et al.. 1995a.b.c

Zheng, 1995; Liao et al.. 1995a,b,c

Biomass and productivity Litterfail and decomposition Elemental cycling

reserves

He et al., 1995

Lin et al., 1990a; Lu and Lin, 1990a Lian and Lin. 1987; Lin and Lin. 1990, Lin and Wu, 1990, Lin and He, 1990 Lin and Lin. 1988

1996)

1986

1994

Ghan. 1989: Anderson, 1990. Choi. 1991; Lee, 1993; Leung, 1993; Kwok and Lee, 1995

Anderson.

Leung, 1994; Choi. 1991

Hodgkiss,

Lee. 199Oa.c 1991: Anderson, 1994, Anderson and Lee, 1995

Lee, 199Oa,b; Anderson, 1994 Lee. 1989a.b

Mai PO

in China (198%

Lin et al., 1990b

Dongzhai

in the six main mangrove

Qinglan

studies conducted

Research area

Table 4 Mangrove

Yu et al.. 1995: Deng et al., 1986; Yang, 1988

Miao et al., 1995 Liu et al.. 1995a.b

Chen et al., 1993a,b; Fan, 1993 Chen et al.. 1993a.b

I.iang and Ge, 1995

Liang and Fan. 1993

Zheng and Lin, 1992

Li, in press

Li et al., 1992. 199-1 Chen et al., 1994

Yin and Lin, 1992

Lin et al., 1992

Shankou

Li et al., in press

Tam et al., 1995a.b

Futian

Gao and Lt. 198.5; Zhou and Li, 1986: He, 1993

Ye et al.. 1988

Lin et al.. 1985, 1995 Lu et al., 1988. Lu and Lin, 1988 Lin et al., 1987, Lin and Chen, 1986, Lin and Lin, 1985, Lian and Lin, 1986 Lin and Fan, 1989; Han and Lin. 1995

Jiulongjiang

He and Fan, 1995

Chen et al., 1995a,b,c; Tam et al., 1995a.b; Wong et al., 1995 He and Fan, 1995

Liu, 1991,1995

Deng et al., 1986; Chen et al., 1995a,b,c; Wang et al., 1995

He and Fan, 1995

MO et al., 1995; He et al., 1995 Fan et al.. 1993a,b

Jiang and Hong,

1993

a The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society publishes an annual Hong Kong Bird Report in which information on the avifauna of Mai PO is frequently Papers cited here do not include unpublished manuscripts, newsletters or consultancy reports which are generally not accessible.

He and Fan, 1995

Melville and Morton, 1983, Melville, 1989, 1991, Melville et al., 1989; Young, 1991, 1993; Lee, 1992b, 1996; Young and Melville, 1993

and

1988;

Conservation Management

Sadaba et al., 1995

Lee, 199Ob Chiu, 1992

et al., 1995a,b,c

a

Sedimentation Pollution

Zheng

HKBWS

Irving and Morton, Lee, 1992b

and

birds

Aquaculture

Microbes Regeneration succession Silviculture

Insects Mangrove

and Lin, 1992

available.

He and Fan, 1995

Chen and Lin, 1988, 1989

Lu and Lin, 1990b; Shen and Lin, 1992

Zhuang

248

MS.

Li, S. Y. Lee/

Forest Ecology

reported on the mangrove communities in Leizhou Peninsula, in the west of Guangdong Province. He (1957) studied the ecology of mangroves and their adaptation to the intertidal habitat. Hou and He (1953) documented the mangrove species composition on the Chinese coast, with particular reference to their taxonomy. Wong (1959) reported on the successful transplantation of mangrove saplings in Ruian county, Zhejiang province. Unfortunately, this early research impetus was not maintained for long. During the 1960s and 1970s. mangrove research remained at a standstill mostly for political reasons. It was not until the 1980s that mangrove research attracted more attention and developed rapidly. The 1990s have witnessed a new era in Chinese mangrove research. The total number of mangrove papers stands at 201 from 1950 to 1995 (excluding papers on Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan mangroves), of which 23 were in English (Fig. 3a); this estimate does not include at least six Ph.D. and seven M. Phil. theses. It is worth pointing out that a regional institution, the Guangxi Mangrove Research Centre (GMRC) was established in 1991 in Beihai, Guangxi Province, and the National Academic Commission for Mangrove Ecological Research was set up in 1992. Furthermore, the first conference on mangrove ecosystems was held in Beihai in 1993 and the second was held in Guangzhou in 1996.

Fig. 3. (a) The number of papers on China’s mangroves published from 1950 to 1995. These papers do not include abstracts submitted to conferences that are not officially published, and those on Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao mangroves. Dam were collected from all published mangrove books and most domestic journals that contain mangrove papers. (b) The number of papers published by different research institutions. A: Xiamen University; B: Zhongshan (Sun Yatsen) University, jointly with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and City University of Hong Kong; C: Guangxi Mangrove Research Centre; D: Institute of Tropical Forestry, Guangzhou: E: The Third Institute of Oceanology of SOB; F: South China Institute of Botany, Academica Sinica; Cl: Futian Mangrove Nature Reserve and H: others. Only institutions with more than 5 papers are listed. If a paper is coauthored by scientists from more than one institution, only the affiliation of the first author is counted. (c) The number of papers published on mangroves at different localities. ‘Integrated’ means that the paper was of a general nature and did not report work from any particular locality. If a paper dealt with more than one location, each location was counted separately.

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96 (I9971

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These reflect the vigorous development of Chinese mangrove research in recent years. The majority of mangrove research (1985-1995) is focused on the six main mangrove reserves (Table 4, not including those in Taiwan and papers on floristics): (a) Qinglan and Dongzhai (19”34’N, 1lO”45’E and 19”54’N, 110”20’E, respectively) on Hainan Island where the most typical and best devel-

(4

MS.

Li, S. Y. Lee/Forest

Ecology

and Management

oped mangroves can be found; (b) Mai PO Marshes in Hong Kong (22”20’N, 114”02’E), and the adjoining Futian Reserve (22”32’N, 114”05’E) in Guangdong province separated by Deep Bay in the Pearl River estuary; (c) Shankou (21”28’N, 109”43’E) in Guangxi province; and (d) Jiulongjiang (24”29’N, 117”55’E) in Fujian Province (Fig. 1; see also Table 5). Since the 1980s no less than 28 institutions have dealt with mangrove research (Fan, 19931, but only five maintain long-term mangrove projects: (a) Xiamen University (Jiulongjiang and Dongzhai); (b) Zhongshan University jointly with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and City University of Hong Kong (Futian); cc> Institute of Tropical Forestry (Qinglan); (d) GMRC (Shankott); and (e) The University of Hong Kong (Mai PO). In fact, 77% of all published papers on China’s mangroves (not including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) are furnished by the first four institutions (Fig. 3b). With respect to the study sites, the Hainan mangroves (32 papers) have been so far, least studied compared with other provinces (except Zhejiang, Fig. 3c), in sharp contrast with the richness and abundance of mangroves there. Of the 32 Hainan papers, more than 10 concerned mangrove floristics and distribu-

Table 5 An inventory

of mangrove

Name of reserve

Location

Qinglangang Dongzhaigang Caiqiao Xingyin Qingmeigang Xingying Huachang Bay Zhanjiang Futian Shankou Beilunhe Jiulongjiang Tanshui MaiPo’

19”34’N, 19”54’N, 20”OSN. 19”52’N, 18”ll’N. 19”49’N, 19”54’N, 21”11’N, 22”32’N, 21”28’N, 21”30’N, 24”29’N, 25”lO’N. 22”20’N,

nature reserves

llO”45’E llO”20’E 1 lO”25’E 109O33’E 109”33’E 109”16’E 109”57’E llO”O4’E 114’05’E 109”43’E 108WJ’E 117”55’E 121”26’E 114”02’E

NA = Not available. a Mangrove species include semi-mangrove b Local = county level. ’ Declared as a Ramsar Site in September

96 (1997)

249

241-259

tion on the island. Conversely, Fujian mangroves (52) have been studied in more detail than those of Guangdong (35) and Guangxi (401, mainly due to the efforts of scientists from Xiamen University (Fig. 3b,c). With regard to the range of subjects studied, the researches dealt with almost all aspects of mangrove biology and ecology. The list given in Table 4 is not exhaustive, but it appears that biomass and productivity, litterfall and decomposition, cycling of elements, and the commercial members of the macrobenthos were the more common study topics. Dongzhai and Qinglan on Hainan Island have the largest continuous stands of mangroves with tree heights up to 15 m, the best developed in China, and were designated as mangrove reserves in 1980 and 198 1, respectively. Because of their relatively remote location in less developed areas on Hainan Island, difficult access has been a major obstacle to more active research at these relatively pristine sites. As shown in Table 4, many of the research topics remain unexplored especially for the Qinglan and Dongzhai mangroves. As a result of the apparent bias of research efforts (see later section on research) to specific areas,

in China Region

Time established

Protected area (ha)

Mangrove area Tha)

No. of mangrove species a

Class

Hainan Island Hainan Island Hainan Island Hainan Island Hainan Island Hainan Island Hainan Island Guangdong Guangdong Guangxi Guangxi Fujian Taiwan Hong Kong

1981 1980 1986 1983 1989 1986 1984 1991 1984 1990 1990 1988 1985 1976

2948 5240 350 67 156 133 133 2000 304 4400 2680 200 733 380

2722 1760 NA NA 30 NA NA 933 111 730 1207 108 80 120

26 20 12 12 20 16 12 12 7 12 11 5 1 8

National National Local b Local Local Local Local Provincial National National Provincial Provincial Taiwan Hong Kong

species as listed in Table 2. 1995.

250

MS. Li, S.Y. Lee/

Forest

Ecology

and Management

knowledge of the Chinese mangroves has been largely restricted to their floristics, production ecology, and utilisation. While litter production and decomposition, as well as cycling of nutrients and metals have been documented (e.g., Lian and Lin, 1986; Lu and Lin, 1988; Lin and Lin, 1990; Lin and Wu, 19901, studies on other aspects of mangrove ecology are rare. Areas such as the dynamics of the mangrove community and the associated fauna, trophodynamics of mangrove litter, and linkages (as nursery site or source of organic matter) with offshore communities, have not been studied. As the Chinese communities represent the main component of the east Asian mangrove assemblage, research in these areas of their ecology should generate valuable comparative information on the structure and function of global mangroves. The importance of the Chinese mangroves is shown by the degree of deviation of the observed levels of standing biomass and litterfall compared to the predicted values calculated based on the regres-

Table 6 Published

values of standing

Location

Dongzhai,

Hainan

crop biomass,

net productivity

and litterfail Maximum tree height Cm)

Standing biomass (t ha- ’ )

19”54’

B. sexangula

14-15

248.5 (145.1) ND

19”s 1’

B. sexangula

14

Yingluo,

Guangxi

21”28’

R. stylosa

6

Mai PO, Hong Kong

22”20’

K. candel

5-l

Futian,

22”32’

K. candel A. corniculatum

4.5-7

24”23’

K. candel

5

19”5 1’ 21”28’ 24”23’

B. sexangdu R. stylosa K. can&l

14 6 5

Guangdong

Jiulongjiang,

Fujian

Dongzhai, Hainan Yingluo, Guangxi Jiulongjiang, Fujian ’ These b These Figures height) ND: no

of Chinese

Species

Hainan

values include the belowground components. values are in t C ha- ’ in parentheses are values calculated based on the equations as a predictor. data.

241-259

sion equations proposed by Saenger and Snedaker (1993) (Table 6). All of the documented values for Chinese mangroves are higher than those predicted by the models, some values differing by > 90%. The large deviations could be a result of the difference in species from which data for the model were compiled, and the diversity of methods empbyed in estimating biomass (e.g., kilometric vs. harvest methods) by both the Chinese researchers and -studies cited by Saenger and Snedaker (1993). While krge deviations can be expected because of the low r2 values of the equations (0.663 and 0.245, for the biomass and litterfall equations, respectively, Saenger and Snedaker, 19931, the extreme deviations in the details about the Chinese mangroves reiterate that little is known of them, and our understanding of mangrove ecosystem may benefit from more information on such systems. Several problems are apparent in Chinese mangrove research: (1) Most studies have focused on the ‘static conditions’ of mangrove forests, e.g., stud&s

Latitude

Hegang.

96 (1997)

Net primary productivity (t ha- ’ yr-‘) 24.56 ND

291.6 (102.27) 129.6 (100.4) 112.9 (98.0) 162.6 ND (87.9) 203.3 141.2 74.6

mangroves

15.37 24.37 27.49

a

23.46 a ND

b ’ b

14.73 b 7.99 b 11.13 b

given by Saenger

and Snedaker

Litterfall (t ha- ’ I ‘, Y’

Reference

13.10 (9.78) 12.55 (9.78) 6.32 (8.24) Il.07 (8.17) Il.50 7.60 (5.17) 8.52 9.21 (7.72) 6.87 b 3.57 b 4.29 b

Lin et al.. 199Ob

(1993)

Lu and Lin, 199Oa Lin et al., 1992 Yin and Lin. 1992 Lee, 199Oa Lee, 1989a Li et al., in press Li, 1993a Lin et al., 1985 Lu et al., 1988 Zheng and Lin, 1995

using the ratio (Latitude/@ee

MS. Li, S.Y. Lee/Forest

Ecology

were aimed at obtaining snapshot pictures of the systems rather than focused on dynamics through space and time. For example, ecological processes at the ecosystem level such as tidal export are rarely investigated. (2) Studies on animals are few in comparison with those on plants. The floristics of the Chinese mangroves have been fairly well researched, but there is little knowledge on the fauna, especially the less commercial but ecologically important components, e.g., the benthic invertebrate community. (3) Conservation and management aspects are almost untouched. (4) Long-term projects are rare. (5) There is a serious shortage of funds to support mangrove projects. (6) Coordination among research institutions is weak, often resulting in too much repetition of efforts (Fan, 1993). The lack of easy access to the international scientific literature also poses problems to the advancement of Chinese mangrove research. For example, while floristics has always been one important study area in Chinese mangrove biology, the status of some of the Chinese species is still debatable. Several hybrid species, e.g. Rhizophora X lamarckii and Sonneratia X gulngai, have been identified and established as stable taxa in the Eastern Mangroves (Duke, 1992). The ‘parent’ species of these hybrids (for example, R. apiculata and R. stylosa for Rhizophora X lamarckii) are present and often coexist in China, and yet no reports of hybrid forms have been registered. Conversely, the status of some species, which are unique to China, e.g., S. hainanensis, probably has to be carefully evaluated in the light of current understanding of mangrove biogeography and taxonomy.

4. Major

threats

With no exception, mangroves in China have suffered from threats as severe as in other developing countries during the last few decades. A brief survey of the mangrove forests of the Asia-Pacific region will reveal many examples of exploitation that ended in disaster: clear-felled forests that may never recover, aquaculture pond ventures that have created wastelands and pollution problems, mining areas that support little life, unchecked collection of foliage for fodder and fuel, and rice paddies that

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produce low yield (Field, 1993). Such a picture is also a vivid description of the consequences of human interference on mangroves in China. Generally speaking, China’s mangroves do not grow to a size large enough to be used as building materials. Other uses such as food, fodder, medicine and tannin remain small in scale, whereas charcoal production is the most important traditional use of mangroves that sometimes results in dire consequences. There are three historical stages of mangrove depletion in China, all of which are results of consumptive utilization. First, mangrove mudflats were extensively reclaimed for rice fields in the 1960s and 1970s to meet demands from the population growth. For example, 4667 ha of mangrove swamp were embanked on Hainan Island during that period, but only 667 ha (14%) were eventually made available for rice farming, while the other areas became wasteland (Chen, 1991). In Guangxi province, there were > 12 246 ha of mangroves in the early 198Os, but only 5654 ha now remain (Fan, 1993). Embanking mangroves for mariculture ponds in the 1980s degraded the remaining mangroves further. Since the marine products (shrimp in most cases) are highly profitable, the low yield rice fields were later turned into fish or shrimp ponds. Meanwhile, large areas of natural mangroves suffered the same fate. These resulted in the disappearance of nearly twothirds of China’s mangroves. For example, in the 195Os, there were 21289 ha of mangroves fringing the Guangdong coastline (He and Fan, 19951, but the present figure only stands at 7787 ha, representing a 63% loss of the original mangrove areas. What happened in Hong Kong was somewhat different from that in mainland China. Historically, the largest areas of Hong Kong mangroves were found at Deep Bay and in To10 Harbour, but the landscape of both places have been greatly altered over the past 70 years (Lee and Morton, in press). The Deep Bay mangroves were first reclaimed as gei wais (traditional shrimp ponds) in the 1940s many of which were later turned into freshwater fish ponds (Irving and Morton, 1988). Today, only the seaward mangrove fringe remains, representing about 15% of the original mangrove area. Third, urban development after the mid-1980s removed vast areas of mangrove forest to create

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more land for harbour construction, real estate development, highways, and industries, often devastating far more wetlands than what was required, and affecting the lives of subsistence coastal dwellers quite unnecessarily. The rapid economic growth in south China has sacrificed many mangrove areas for the development of coastal economic zones during this period. As an extremely land-limited metropolitan city, the urban development of Hong Kong has turned 42% of the natural mangrove coastlines of To10 Harbour into large town areas and a race course. Another 50 ha of mangrove habitats have been or will be destroyed by the construction of a new airport and associated developments on the north shore of Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok Island (Consultants in Environmental Sciences, 1991). Pollution associated with urban and industrial developments is also a growing threat to Chinese mangroves.

5. Conservation

and management

With increasing understanding of the ecology of mangrove ecosystems, their importance in shoreline stabilisation and wildlife protection has been recognized (Hutchings and Saenger, 1987; Saenger, 1987). Since 1980, 12 mangrove reserves have been established in mainland China (Table 5). In addition, the governments of Hong Kong and Taiwan have set up the Mai PO Marshes Nature Reserve and Tanshui Nature Reserve, respectively. The Mai PO Marshes with the tidal mangroves, some freshwater fish ponds and the extensive intertidal mudflat in Inner Deep Bay, Hong Kong, have recently been declared as a Ramsar Site by the Hong Kong Government. This first and only Ramsar Site in Hong Kong covers an area of 1500 ha and supports > 68000 waterfowl in winter (Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, in press). The gei wais in Mai PO, Hong Kong may represent a sustainable utilisation of mangroves to simultaneously support the dual objectives of wildlife conservation and fisheries production. In contrast to the intensively managed aquaculture ponds common in southeast Asia, patches of marsh and mangrove vegetation are maintained in the large impoundments (10 ha), which are managed in traditional methods without artificial fertilization or stocking of larvae. Despite some management difficulties (Lee, 1992b),

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the gei wais are generally much more environmentally friendly landscapes than their counterparts in southeast Asia, where shrimp farming has inflicted severe and often irreversible damage to large areas of mangroves @rimervera, 1993). The success of the Mai PO Marshes has been the result of strict enforcement of conservation legislation (entry is restricted by law), presence of a buffer zone, and active habitat management. Other mangrove reserves in China do not, however, enjoy the same level of protection and management. The total area of protected mangrove areas in China is equal to 8445 ha, accounting for 47% of the existing mangroves (Table 5). Nevertheless, the mangroves in nonreserve regions ( > 50% of the total mangrove areas) continue to be degraded. One problem of the Chinese mangrove reserves is inadequate size and the lack of buffers from disturbance. Protection has been concentrated on the pure mangrove stands, Since mangroves are ecotones and interact significantly with adjoining freshwater and seawater ecosystem, the boundary of mangrove reserves should, where possible. extend into the sea and into freshwater catchments to ensure that the areas set aside are large enough and adequately buffered to survive (Ong, 1995). Despite an enormous exertion of scientific effort. there is still no acceptable model, simple or complex, as to how mangrove ecosystems function or how their productivity is controlled (Field, 1993). On the other hand, some baseline background data remains unavailable even in national mangrove reserves, e.g., virtually nothing is known about the benthic fauna at Qinglan and Dongzhai mangroves, the best developed forests in China. Consequently, scientific man agement cannot act against the predicted rapid deterioration, or to estimate the likely ecological and other damages resulting from the threats. There are no effective protective management measures currently in effect in China’s mangrove reserves. The present management policy just serves as a safeguard to keep mangroves from being felled and from other activities harmful to the habitats. Even this function is sometimes subject to the discretion of policymakers. Any form of consumptiv.e exploitation of mangroves is not desirable in China at the present time if sustainable utilization is to be achieved, because not enough predictive power is

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available based on the present state of knowledge. In contrast to the conservationist’s way of thinking, most of the general public will likely put economic benefits above conservation values, and this attitude is quite expected among the population of rapidly developing China. It seems that research on management based on sustainable use of the mangrove resources would be more beneficial to the local people than detailed studies of pure mangrove ecolWY. There has been no explicit national policy about mangrove protection promulgated in China so far, although the need to protect mangroves is mentioned in general terms in five laws and regulations concerning oceanic environmental protection, wildlife protection, forest protection and coastal construction projects. Moreover, no particular agency is responsible for the administration of mangroves and their conservation in China. At the provincial level, mangrove affairs are handled by various administrative departments, depending on the location: the ocean (in Guangxi), forestry (in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang) and environmental protection (in Hainan) departments or a combination of departments (in Hainan). In some areas, aquaculture in ponds excavated in mangrove swamps is encouraged by local authorities, often assisted technologically by local aquaculture agencies, a policy which is obviously contradictory to the conservative efforts of the forestry departments. Administration by various poorly coordinated agencies with conflicting interests does not benefit mangrove resource conservation. To date, no international research, management or training programmes on mangrove ecosystems have been carried out in China, although many of them have been carried out elsewhere in Asia and the Pacific regions. The regional mangrove projects funded by international NGOs do not usually involve China’s mangroves, e.g., UNDP/UNESCO (1986); UNDP/UNESCO (1987a); UNDP/UNESCO (1987b); UNDP/UNESCO (1987~); UNDP/UNESCO (1988); Asian Development Bank (1992) and FAO (1994). Increased international efforts will undoubtedly help the Chinese government preserve the existing mangroves in a more effective way. The lack of representation of the Chinese mangroves in the global picture is unfortunate because, by virtue of

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their unique geographical location (e.g., the Chinese mangroves are the only communities represented for coastlines located between 18-27”N and 108-12O”E). and, consequently, biological characteristics, they should provide important information to the understanding of global mangrove ecosystems. It is also imperative to urge local authorities to enact and enforce legislation for the control of the use of the mangrove forests. Meanwhile, educational programmes should be launched to teach the local population on the importance of mangroves. World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong (WWFHK) is currently running a 4-level education programme for various public audiences, and has trained many mangrove nature reserve workers from China and the rest of Asia through courses organised at the Peter Scott Field Studies Centre at Mai PO (Young, 1992). Such a multifaceted approach to public education will be highly desirable for the improvement of protection and conservation of China’s mangroves.

6. Conclusions and recommendations China has limited mangrove resources of which nearly two-thirds have been lost during the past 40 years. Aquaculture development and urbanisation since the 1980s still remain as the major threats but large-scale conversion of mangroves to rice fields has largely stopped. Although 12 mangrove reserves have been established to date in mainland China, more than half of the remaining mangroves are unprotected. Considerable efforts have been paid to understanding mangrove ecosystems in China and over 200 papers have been published, especially after 1980. We recommend that more attention should be paid to the conservation and management issues as these represent more critical areas of concern than purely ecological processes. More studies should be encouraged on Hainan Island, as its mangroves are the best developed in the country. These studies call for more financial, infrastructural and logistical support from the government. Research by different institutions in various regions should be better coordinated. A China Mangrove Research Centre has, therefore, been proposed to fulfill this role, as well as to seek international cooperation with mangrove

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researchers in other countries (Chen and Liu, 1992; Fan, 1993). It is conceivable that mangrove research and conservation will attract increasing attention. To facilitate the management and conservation of China’s mangroves, several measures can be taken. The first step to prevent nonreserve mangroves from further deteriorating is to declare more mangrove areas as nature reserves. Besides the 12 existing mangrove reserves, mangroves in Maniao, Hongpai, Xingcungang, Yalong Bay (Hainan), Qinzhou (Guangxi), Zhangjiangkou, Zhangwan, Houyu and Xiamen west port (Fujian) should be established as new reserves. Second, a National Mangrove Committee, as proposed by Lin and Fu (1995), and Chinese Mangrove Research Centre, as proposed by Fan (19931, can be set up. Furthermore, countrywide inventory report on mangroves should be prepared as soon as possible to provide baseline information on the country’s mangrove resources. Third, management guidelines that can be easily understood and implemented by people responsible for the formulation of mangrove development policies should be developed. Such guidelines should incorporate ecological, economic and social considerations and should support research efforts, especially on applied topics. Fourth, legislation should be enacted and enforced, and strict observation should be ensured. The incidents that occurred in Futian Reserve should not be repeated. Fifth, education programmes in the major mangrove reserves similar to that at the Mai PO Marshes Nature Reserve should be launched. Finally, any further exploitation of mangroves should be prohibited. Tourism has been previously proposed as one nonconsumptive form of mangrove resource utilization (Li, 1993b; Lin and Fu, 1995) and some mangrove reserves have (Dongzhai and Shankou) or will build (Qinghm and Futian) tourist facilities to generate income. Care should be taken in estimating the carrying capacity for tourists and the range of compatible activities to avoid damaging these fragile ecosystems, Given the limited area and current threatened status of the Chinese mangroves, the balance of the various potential beneficial uses, such as wastewater treatment (Chen, 1991; Wong et al.,

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1995), ecotourism, education and research, and fishery exploitation, should be carefully considered to ensure long-term sustainability.

Acknawkdgem~nts This work was conducted during the tenure of a Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to M.S. Li at The University of Hong Kong. The authors would like to thank Dr. Fan Hangqing for presenting us his published papers for reference.

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