Wetland Habitat Quality Assessment and Improvement From A Perspective of Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity

Abstract Drawing upon an empirical case study of China’s Quanzhou Bay Estuary Wetland (QBEW) area, this study underscores spatial and temporal variations of underlying forces that shape changes in the habitat quality (HQ) of wetlands. Specifically, by integrating the InVEST model-based ecosystem services or HQ assessment and the STWR-based statistical modeling, we have found evident spatial and temporal variations among the effects of different environmental conditions and socioeconomic factors on HQ. HQ in areas above 200 m is significantly better than that of areas below an altitude of 50 m in our study region when holding other factors constant. Additionally, locations with higher values of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are associated with better HQ, especially in areas near extensive mangrove forests. In contrast, night light (NL) reflectance, a proxy of socioeconomic activities, negatively impacts HQ, but its influence has been weakened throughout the study period. Another indicator of urbanization, i.e., population density (PD), however, has had a weak and unstable effect on HQ. Our findings suggest that wetland conservation would be more effective if it could be more closely tied to place- and time-specific socioeconomic and environmental contexts, and the integrated framework developed in this research would assist in effective ecological improvement efforts and resource allocation for sustaining wetland HQ.