China further strengthens the protection and restoration of coral reef ecosystems
2024-07-11
Coral reefs are typical marine ecosystems that play an important role in protecting coastlines, maintaining biodiversity, and promoting global carbon cycling. The recently issued Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources on Strengthening the Protection and Restoration of Coral Reefs has put forward 10 requirements in five aspects, including establishing a sound investigation and evaluation and early warning monitoring system, strengthening the protection and management of coral reef ecosystems, scientifically implementing coral reef ecosystem protection and restoration, and enhancing scientific and technological support capabilities. It further improves relevant management systems and promotes the improvement of the quality and stability of coral reef ecosystems. What is the current status of coral reef protection and restoration in China? What are the key and difficult points? The reporter interviewed frontline scientific and technological workers in coral reef protection and restoration. Bottom line investigation is the first step, and early warning monitoring is crucial. Although coral reefs only cover 0.25% of the ocean area, they nurture about 1/4 of marine life. It is known as the "tropical rainforest in the ocean", not only the guardian of marine biodiversity, but also the coastal guard of cutting waves and strengthening embankments, and a biological treasure trove containing various resources. The first step in protecting and restoring coral reefs is to conduct a thorough investigation, while early warning and monitoring are crucial. Only by understanding where coral reefs are distributed, their development status, and the damage they have suffered, can targeted measures be taken and timely protection and repair be carried out. Lv Yihua is a researcher at the South China Sea Ecological Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and has been engaged in coral reef investigation, evaluation, and early warning monitoring for nearly 10 years. In order to dive and investigate coral reefs, he obtained a professional diver qualification certificate as soon as he joined the company. He and his team went out to sea to investigate coral reefs year-round and obtained a large amount of valuable first-hand information. There are three main methods for conducting surveys on the distribution of coral reefs. One is to use ocean satellite remote sensing to establish the distribution area of coral reefs on a large scale; The second is to operate cruise type underwater robots for small-scale coral reef patrols; Another step is to conduct artificial diving to accurately confirm the distribution of coral reefs Lv Yihua introduced that each of these methods has its own strengths and plays an important role. In 2019, he and his team collaborated with Zhejiang University to independently develop a portable coral reef survey equipment, which can replace diving operations in coral reef distribution surveys in nearshore waters. This equipment has low cost, high safety, and strong operability, and can conduct more detailed and comprehensive investigations of coral reefs, improving operational efficiency by 2 to 3 times. After completing the distribution survey, it is necessary to conduct a detailed ecological survey of the coral reefs to further understand their ecological status. For example, whether the coral coverage is high or not, whether there has been whitening death, how many fish and algae inhabit it, and what is the surrounding water quality. The investigation results will provide important references and basis for early warning and monitoring. If we warn of coral bleaching, we will focus on monitoring its temperature and thermal accumulation effects, and deploy online devices underwater to track coral growth in real-time. Then report the monitoring results to the local government, reminding them to strengthen protection and restoration, and restrain human activities near the shore Lv Yihua said that if a coral reef is found to have been invaded by harmful organisms such as long spined starfish and stone fruit snails, it must be immediately reported to relevant departments for emergency response and disposal as soon as possible to reduce the harm. Dealing with coral reefs all year round, Lv Yihua has a strong affection for this beautiful and magical creature. "When I see them healthy and energetic, my mood is particularly good. When I see them being damaged, I feel very sad." When interviewing Zheng Xinqing, who mainly focuses on natural restoration and assisted by artificial restoration, he had just completed a whole day of coral reef restoration work in Dongshan County, Fujian Province. Despite being very tired, Zheng Xinqing became excited when he talked about coral reefs. Zheng Xinqing comes from the Third Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources and has been engaged in coral reef protection and restoration work for more than 10 years. "My colleagues and I went to Dongshan this time to dive to the bottom of the sea and see how the coral we 'planted' at the end of last year grew," he said. The so-called "planting" coral, as the name suggests, is coral transplantation, which is a common method of coral reef restoration technology. Zheng Xinqing introduced that ecological restoration of coral reefs often relies mainly on natural restoration and supplemented by artificial restoration. At present, China mainly adopts traditional restoration methods based on asexual reproduction techniques such as coral nursery cultivation, artificial reef placement, and coral whole or branch transplantation. In this way, coral coverage can be improved in a short period of time, coral reef habitats can be quickly restored, and the natural recovery process can be accelerated. Dongshan is the northernmost edge of coral reef communities in China, with relatively harsh environmental conditions. This time, I have attempted to restore coral communities at multiple locations in Dongshan. The main source of coral is the collection of scattered coral branches by diving, which are then fixed on a nursery rack pre placed on the seabed, waiting for their natural growth and development. Of course, there is also a portion that comes from shore based coral cultivation systems. After these corals grow up, transplanting them onto artificial reefs or exposed natural reef rocks will gradually form coral communities Zheng Xinqing explained that collecting coral debris for nursery cultivation is to reduce damage to natural coral communities and also provide sufficient sources of coral seedlings for subsequent coral restoration. Although this process is relatively slow, it is a necessary stage. "Planting" coral requires a lot of attention, and without sufficient research and evaluation, researchers will not act rashly. Sometimes, the preparation work before coral reef restoration is more complex and cumbersome than the restoration itself. The cost of coral reef restoration is high, and the survival rate depends on the preparation work in the early stage of restoration. Therefore, the key to the success of coral cultivation lies in determining the area for coral reef restoration in advance, and then deciding what restoration methods or strategies to adopt. In order to improve the success rate of coral community restoration in Dongshan, Zheng Xinqing and his colleagues relied on the field observation station of the Ministry of Natural Resources set up in Dongshan. Starting from 2019, they went diving more than 100 times to thoroughly understand the distribution and degradation factors of coral communities in Dongshan and surrounding waters. They consulted a large amount of historical data on the ecological environment along the coast of Dongshan, systematically evaluated its restoration feasibility, and finally finalized the restoration plan. "This time we went to Dongshan Island and saw that the 100 coral juveniles' planted 'at the end of November 2023 were growing very well, which was very gratifying." Zheng Xinqing said that coral is most fragile in the first month after being "planted", and is prone to problems such as shedding. Researchers are not just about planting corals, but about carefully maintaining and managing them on a regular basis, just like a "baby nurse" who takes care of them carefully. In Zheng Xinqing's heart, an island without coral reefs is like a mountain without trees. In addition to carrying out coral reef protection and restoration practices in the sea, another important part of his work is carried out in onshore laboratories. The Coral Conservation Museum, located in Xiamen, Fujian, was established by the Third Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources in 2013 and is also the first large-scale coral breeding laboratory in China. Zheng Xinqing and his colleagues are dedicated here to studying the degradation and adaptation mechanisms of coral reefs, as well as large-scale artificial breeding techniques for corals. Coral field harvesting is strictly restricted and cannot be carried out without restrictions by demolishing the east wall to make up for the west wall. Therefore, the source of coral seedlings is often a bottleneck issue in coral reef restoration Zheng Xinqing introduced that in order to increase the supply of coral seedlings, the research team has been committed to the research of key technologies for large-scale cultivation and breeding of terrestrial or semi terrestrial corals since 2011. They have established a coral sexual reproduction system based on natural habitat simulation, achieved sexual reproduction of corals in a closed cycle system, and achieved artificial breeding of key organisms in various reef areas indoors. The protection and restoration of coral reefs require the joint participation of the whole society. On June 8th of this year, the Ministry of Natural Resources issued the "2023 China Marine Ecological Early Warning and Monitoring Bulletin". The communique shows that China's coral reef ecosystem is mainly in good condition. Coral reefs are widely distributed in the waters south of Dongshan in Fujian, with the most widespread distribution in the nearshore waters around Hainan Island. Reef building stones account for 40% of the world's total discovered coral species, with nearly 600 species of coral reef fish. In 2023, the coverage of live corals in various monitoring areas has increased compared to 2020, and the overall structure of biological communities remains stable. Some areas are affected by seawater warming, resulting in coral bleaching. Lv Yihua said that coral grows very slowly, with some species only growing 10 to 20 centimeters a year. Once damaged, it takes a long process to recover. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the efforts of coral reef early warning and monitoring, understand the current situation and evolution trend of coral reef ecosystems, grasp the ecological risks that corals may face, and provide fundamental guarantees for ecological protection and restoration. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen basic research on coral ecosystems, understand the mechanism of coral bleaching and the principles of the action of harmful organisms; On the other hand, it is necessary to continue to carry out technological breakthroughs, improve early warning and monitoring scientific research equipment and technological level, and promote long-term and systematic investigation and research. Zheng Xinqing believes that we should continue to enhance our technological support capabilities and enhance the recovery potential of coral reefs. In the future, we need to conduct in-depth research on the sexual reproduction technology of reef building coral, maintain the connectivity and genetic diversity of species genes, and strengthen the key technology research on enhancing coral's tolerance to the environment, breaking through the key technology of "super coral". In addition, coral reef restoration is not only the restoration of habitats, but also the restoration of reef biodiversity and ecological functions. Therefore, it is also necessary to consider the restoration of key functional populations in coral reef ecosystems, and to restore the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems. The relevant officials from the Department of Land, Space and Ecological Restoration of the Ministry of Natural Resources stated that the protection and restoration of coral reefs rely not only on the strength of government departments and marine scientist teams, but also require the participation of the whole society. They encourage social capital and public welfare organizations to invest in coral reef protection, restoration and management through various modes. The interviewed experts call on everyone to adopt a low-carbon and green lifestyle and work style, and to support the implementation of the "dual carbon" action to the best of their ability. When traveling or diving at the beach, do not damage or collect corals, and do not dump garbage into the sea. (Lai Xin She)
Edit：He Chuanning Responsible editor：Su Suiyue
Source：People's Daily
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