a hybrid wetland map for china a synergistic approach using census and spatially explicit datasets混合湿地对中国地图协同方法使用人口普查和空间明确的数据集.pdfVIP

A Hybrid Wetland Map for China: A Synergistic Approach Using Census and Spatially Explicit Datasets 1 1,2 1,3 1 Kun Ma , Liangzhi You , Junguo Liu *, Mingxiang Zhang 1 School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 2 Environment and Production Technology, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, D.C., United States of America, 3 Ecosystems Services Management Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria Abstract Wetlands play important ecological, economic, and cultural roles in societies around the world. However, wetland degradation has become a serious ecological issue, raising the global sustainability concern. An accurate wetland map is essential for wetland management. Here we used a fuzzy method to create a hybrid wetland map for China through the combination of five existing wetlands datasets, including four spatially explicit wetland distribution data and one wetland census. Our results show the total wetland area is 384,864 km2, 4.08% of China’s national surface area. The hybrid wetland map also shows spatial distribution of wetlands with a spatial resolution of 1 km. The reliability of the map is demonstrated by comparing it with spatially explicit datasets on lakes and reservoirs. The hybrid wetland map is by far the first wetland mapping that is consistent with the statistical data at the national and provincial levels in China. It provides a benchmark map for research on wetland protection and management. The method presented here is applicable for not only wetland mapping but also for other thematic mapping in China and beyond. Citation: Ma K, You L, Liu J, Zhang M (2012) A Hybrid Wetland Map