The first article will appear at the end of September this year, and Shanghai will have two more "breathing" lines that can be close to the coastline of the ocean | Ecology | Shanghai

Today, with more than 10000 spotted tailed shrimps, goldfish, pufferfish, and 600 kilograms of razor clams, clams, and sandworms being released into the sea, the overall construction of the Shanghai Lingang Coastal Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration Project has entered the final sprint stage. The project started construction in July 2022 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of September this year.

Restoration of ecological environment and expansion of sea friendly space

The Shanghai Lingang Coastal Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration Project starts from the east embankment of the Luchao Port Sluice in the west and ends at the south embankment of the Nanhui Dongtan Improvement Project in the east, involving a total shoreline length of 17.05 kilometers and a total investment of 530 million yuan.

The main project of this project is the "Belt and Three Points": a 17.05 kilometer ecological corridor, as well as a habitat restoration section for the harbor depression, a protection and restoration section for the Nanhuizui characteristic wetland, and an erosion beach protection and restoration section, including beach protection and restoration outside the embankment, intertidal biodiversity restoration, coastal zone restoration ecological environment tracking and monitoring, and supporting science popularization and management facilities.

As one of the key projects for ecological restoration of the damaged coastal zone on the north coast of Hangzhou Bay, this project is included in the "Coastal Zone Special Plan" of the "National Major Ecological System Protection and Restoration Engineering Master Plan". In October 2021, a competitive selection was organized by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, with joint support from the central government's marine ecological protection and restoration funds and the Shanghai fiscal budget funds.

General layout plan

Node 2 rendering

Experts from Shanghai's marine management department pointed out that the coastal zone near the port is currently facing three crises: the invasion of alien species such as Spartina alterniflora, degradation of coastal wetland habitats, and unstable beach conditions caused by damage to wave dams. These factors pose a threat to the surrounding ecological security.

Among them, Spartina alterniflora is one of the 100 most dangerous invasive species in the world, which destroys the living environment of coastal organisms and affects mudflat aquaculture; Blocking the waterway and affecting the departure of ships; Affects the exchange capacity of seawater, leading to a decrease in water quality and triggering red tide; Threatening the local coastal ecosystem, restricting the growth of local plants such as reed and Scirpus, leading to a decrease in biodiversity, severe degradation of wetland habitats, and an incomplete ecosystem.

The coastal marine ecological protection and restoration project of Shanghai Lingang is to solve the problems such as the shrinking of mudflat and wetlands in the coastal zone area, and the invasion of alien species threatening ecological security.

After the completion of the project, it will improve the quality of the coastal ecosystem in Lingang, maintain ecological security, promote ecological disaster reduction and synergy, enhance the carbon sequestration and sink capacity of the marine ecosystem, and form a high-quality coastal line in the Lingang New Area, adding more beautiful marine features to the living space of Nanhui New City, which is "lake sea integration, open and shared".

Chen Weiguo, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Marine Management Center, revealed that the Fengxian Coastal Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration Project will start construction this summer and strive to be completed within two years. Shanghai will also have an additional 17 kilometer coastline, and the coastal space will be further expanded.

Creating a 17 kilometer "breathing" coastline

It is reported that multiple ecological restoration technologies have been comprehensively applied to the Shanghai Lingang Coastal Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration Project, creating a 17 kilometer "breathing" coastline.

For example, the comprehensive application of in-situ restoration of wave dissipating dams and oyster reef group beach fixation technology can protect and restore the gradient salt marsh wetland habitat of "high medium low beach", and play its synergistic effect of beach protection, wave dissipation and moisture prevention, and ecological disaster reduction; Realize the full chain restoration and restoration of salt marsh wetland habitat vegetation benthic organisms, and unleash its carbon sequestration value; Establish salt marsh wetland ecological monitoring stations and carbon flux towers, carry out ecological environment tracking and monitoring, and comprehensively evaluate the restoration effect.

CCCC Shanghai Navigation Bureau is responsible for the first section of the Shanghai Lingang Coastal Marine Ecological Protection and Restoration Project, which involves a coastline of 9.5 kilometers and mainly includes projects such as beach protection and restoration outside the embankment, intertidal biodiversity restoration, and science popularization service stations.

The project manager Nie Kai introduced that the beach protection and restoration project outside the embankment has been completed, and the overall construction progress of the first section has reached 88%. Starting from this month, approximately 40 tons of benthic organisms will be gradually released into the sea area where the project is located.

"It takes one or two months for the reed and sea trident grass communities to stabilize before benthic organisms can be released," Nie Kai said. Although it appears that only reed and sea trident grass have been planted, as well as razor clams, green clams, and sand silkworms, there is actually a lot of content in it.

Firstly, the species to be planted and released must be local, and considering adaptability and survival rates, priority should be given to selecting dominant species in order to establish the "foundation" of biodiversity. With abundant food sources and a good environment, fish and birds will be attracted.

Secondly, the process of planting and releasing related species poses many challenges to the construction party. For example, the survival rate of sea clover is not only related to the effectiveness of Spartina alterniflora management, but also closely related to the elevation of tidal flats. However, in the actual construction process, the relative safe area near the dam is not ideal, and sea clover can only be transplanted for planting. To increase their ability to resist wind and waves, the construction party used various tools such as geotextile bags, bamboo cages, and grass bags to protect them in every way possible.

It is reported that after the completion of the project, there will be a 3-year maintenance period, and the project team will continue to monitor and monitor the ecological environment of this area together with professional organizations.

The Shanghai Ocean Management Department stated that during the 14th Five Year Plan period, Shanghai will also focus on promoting marine ecological protection and restoration projects such as the Sheshan Island territorial sea base point, Jinshan Coastal Wetland, Fengxian Huadian Huiba Bank section, and Jinshan Three Islands intertidal zone. It will explore the establishment of a reserve and funding mechanism for marine ecological protection and restoration projects, establish and improve a marine ecological restoration evaluation system, and prepare and issue action plans for marine ecological protection and restoration.