Process-dependent wetland degradation and ecological resilience in Northeast China revealed by a zone-weighted regional wetland composite index
- 1College of Geographical Sciences and Tourism, Jilin Normal University, Siping, Jilin 136000, China; Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographical Environment Monitoring and Simulation in Northeast Asia, Siping, Jilin 136000, China
- 2College of Geographical Sciences and Tourism, Jilin Normal University, Siping, Jilin 136000, China; Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographical Environment Monitoring and Simulation in Northeast Asia, Siping, Jilin 136000, China; Corresponding author at: College of Geographical Sciences and Tourism, Jilin Normal University, Siping, Jilin 136000, China.
- 3College of Geographical Sciences and Tourism, Jilin Normal University, Siping, Jilin 136000, China
Abstract
In Northeast China, wetland degradation has intensified under climate change and human activities, disturbing the stability of the system. However, due to the spatial heterogeneity in dominant degradation processes, the applicability of conventional indicators and fixed weighting schemes appears to be limited. To address this issue, this study developed a dominant-process-based zonal weighting framework by distinguishing wetlands in Northeast China into a salinization-dominated zone (SDZ) and a hydrology-dominated zone (HDZ), and constructed a zone-weighted Regional Wetland Composite Index (RWCI). Moreover, environmental and socioeconomic factors were analyzed in relation to long-term mean RWCI. The results show that RWCI effectively characterized wetland habitat changes (POA = 91.65%, Kappa = 0.9008). During 2000–2023, increasing RWCI trends were observed in 69.73% of the baseline wetland pixels in the SDZ, whereas decreasing trends occurred in 50.28% of the pixels in the HDZ. Low and medium resilience wetlands of 54.76% and 41.17%, respectively suggesting the recovery trend in partial regions, while the ecosystem stability was still insufficient. Moreover, the driving contributions also differed between zones. In the SDZ, long-term mean RWCI was mainly associated with hydrothermal factors, especially precipitation (33.2%). Conversely, long-term mean RWCI in the HDZ was more strongly associated with human activity, especially population density (26.3%). Overall, this paper indicates the regional heterogeneity of wetlands in degradation, stability risk and their drivers, offering scientific support for zoned management, risk warning and wetland conservation in Northeast China.
Related
- Evolving energy-water infrastructure strengthens drought resilience in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest
- From ecological health indicators to priority zoning: A threshold-guided assessment framework for Northeast China
- Three-dimensional assessment of watershed health resilience and low-resilience risk analysis under the coupling of water resources, ecological, and socioeconomic subsystems
- Perception of Rangeland Degradation in Mongolia: The Role of Herder Groups and Local Ecological Knowledge
- Can ecological restoration strengthen farm household livelihood resilience? Evidence from the Shan-Shui project and CHFS panel data
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026processdependent,
title = {{Process-dependent wetland degradation and ecological resilience in Northeast China revealed by a zone-weighted regional wetland composite index}},
author = {Jitao Zhang and Jiping Liu and Meijun Li and Cheng Han and Yanhui Chen and Yanqi Ding},
journal = {Ecological Indicators},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115500},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115500},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Process-dependent wetland degradation and ecological resilience in Northeast China revealed by a zone-weighted regional wetland composite index
AU - Jitao Zhang
AU - Jiping Liu
AU - Meijun Li
AU - Cheng Han
AU - Yanhui Chen
AU - Yanqi Ding
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Ecological Indicators
DO - 10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115500
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115500
AB - In Northeast China, wetland degradation has intensified under climate change and human activities, disturbing the stability of the system. However, due to the spatial heterogeneity in dominant degradation processes, the applicability of conventional indicators and fixed weighting schemes appears to be limited. To address this issue, this study developed a dominant-process-based zonal weighting framework by distinguishing wetlands in Northeast China into a salinization-dominated zone (SDZ) and a hydrology-dominated zone (HDZ), and constructed a zone-weighted Regional Wetland Composite Index (RWCI). Moreover, environmental and socioeconomic factors were analyzed in relation to long-term mean RWCI. The results show that RWCI effectively characterized wetland habitat changes (POA = 91.65%, Kappa = 0.9008). During 2000–2023, increasing RWCI trends were observed in 69.73% of the baseline wetland pixels in the SDZ, whereas decreasing trends occurred in 50.28% of the pixels in the HDZ. Low and medium resilience wetlands of 54.76% and 41.17%, respectively suggesting the recovery trend in partial regions, while the ecosystem stability was still insufficient. Moreover, the driving contributions also differed between zones. In the SDZ, long-term mean RWCI was mainly associated with hydrothermal factors, especially precipitation (33.2%). Conversely, long-term mean RWCI in the HDZ was more strongly associated with human activity, especially population density (26.3%). Overall, this paper indicates the regional heterogeneity of wetlands in degradation, stability risk and their drivers, offering scientific support for zoned management, risk warning and wetland conservation in Northeast China.
SN - 1470-160X
SN - 1872-7034
ER -