Analysis of Dessication Trend at Zhalong Wetland in Heilongjiang, China

We studied changes in landscape patterns, especially the trend of dessication at Zhalong Wetland using remote sensing, GIS techniques and analysis of a time series of satellite images from 1979-2006. Our results show: (1) The landscape pattern at Zhalong changed significantly. (2) The centroid of wetland shifted from northeast to southwest from 1979-2006, indicating the distribution of water changed. (3) The wetland is getting drier, especially from 1999 to 2006. About 100 km2 changed from open water to other wetland types of land cover and 611 km² marshes changed to drier types of land cover. The wetland has become more fragmented. The area covered by alkalized soil has been expanding. The total alkaline soil area increased by 28.08 km2, including increase in the core area. Zhalong is a globally important wetland supporting the largest breeding population of Red-crowned Cranes and many other birds. This study of landscape changes is now helping to guide wetland restoration at Zhalong. Reserve management needs to address water supply and wetland fragmentation.