The aquatic institute reveals the ecological mechanism of China's freshwater biodiversity conservation

[ Instrument Network Instrument Development ] Recently, the paper "Challenges to saving China's freshwater biodiversity: fishery exploitation and landscape pressures" of the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences on the ecological mechanism of China's freshwater biodiversity conservation was published online by Ambio Online Journal .

Due to the interference of multiple human activities such as fishing, water conservancy projects, industrial and agricultural development, urbanization, shipping, shore development, river and lake barriers, sand mining and mining, China's freshwater biodiversity is on the verge of extreme danger. Rare and freshwater organisms such as white dolphins and white pelicans have been functionally extinct, Yangtze finless porpoises and Chinese sturgeons have been extremely endangered, and the resources and diversity of fish and other freshwater organisms have shown a great decline and a sharp decline.

Taking the Yangtze River Basin as an example, the article analyzes the decline and change trend of aquatic organisms such as freshwater mammals and fish in China since the 1980s. Among them, the article for the first time comprehensively analyzed the historical background, development process, current situation, ecological significance and existing problems of China's prohibition of fishery fishing (ie, forbidden or prohibited fishing) in the Yangtze River Basin and the major river basins in China since the 1980s.

The article reveals the protection mechanism of freshwater biodiversity in China from the perspective of landscape ecology. Fishery fishing is a key factor that directly affects freshwater biodiversity and resources. Landscape human activities factors such as water conservancy projects, shipping, coastal development, and urbanization mostly affect the diversity and resources of aquatic organisms by affecting habitats. Since the elimination of the most direct factors affecting aquatic organisms, the full implementation of the ban on fisheries in major river basins is the first and most important step in promoting the conservation of freshwater biodiversity in China. However, it is not optimistic that the intensity of human activity disturbances affecting aquatic organisms mainly through habitats within the landscape ecological framework has not been adjusted. On the contrary, these pressures have been increasing. Taking the Yangtze River Basin as an example, in the past 20-30 years, the total power generation capacity of the Yangtze River has increased by 23 times, the sand production of the main stream has remained high, and the total cargo volume and industrial output value of the Yangtze River Basin have been nearly 20 years. It has increased by 9 times, the total urban population in the Yangtze River Basin has increased by 1.5 times in the past 10 years, and the total crop yield in the Yangtze River Basin has increased by 1.4 times in the past 20 years. These continuously enhanced landscape stress factors make the protection of freshwater biodiversity in China extremely challenging, and to a certain extent, it is likely to cover the ecological benefits brought about by the comprehensive ban on fisheries in the basin.

In order to comprehensively protect China's freshwater biodiversity, the article also puts forward relevant suggestions from the perspective of landscape ecology: on the one hand, it is necessary to continue to implement full-scale full-scale no-fishing; on the other hand, it is urgent to adjust and standardize various landscape stress factors and simultaneously carry out large-scale habitats. Repairs, as well as supporting legislation and ecological monitoring and other related measures. These measures and recommendations are not only conducive to the protection of freshwater biodiversity in China, but also to other developing countries that also face the needs of rapid economic development and ecological protection.

The research was funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Hundred Talents Program, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Frontier Science Key Research Project, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Deployment Project, the WWF Freshwater Project, and the National Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology. Chen Yushun, a researcher at the Institute of Aquatic Sciences, is the first author and correspondent of the paper. In addition, some of the graduate students of the Chen Yushun team and the US freshwater ecology related research team participated in the study.