Dynamics changes of coastal aquaculture ponds based on the Google Earth Engine in Jiangsu Province, China.

Monitoring the spatiotemporal variation in coastal aquaculture zones is essential to providing a scientific basis for formulating scientifically reasonable land management policies. This study uses the Google Earth Engine (GEE) remote sensing cloud platform to extract aquaculture information based on Landsat series and Sentinel-2 images for the six years of 1984 to 2021 (1984, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2016 and 2021), so as to analyze the changes in the coastal aquaculture pond area, along with its spatiotemporal characteristics, of Jiangsu Province. The overall area of coastal aquaculture ponds in Jiangsu shows an increasing trend in the early period and a decreasing trend in the later period. Over the past 37 years, the area of coastal aquaculture ponds has increased by a total of 54,639.73 ha. This study can provide basic data for the sustainable development of coastal aquaculture in Jiangsu, and a reference for related studies in other regions.

Correction: Land reclamation pattern and environmental regulation guidelines for port clusters in the Bohai Sea, China.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259516.].

Risk assessment of heavy metals in a typical mangrove ecosystem - A case study of Shankou Mangrove National Natural Reserve, southern China.

Mangroves bear enormous ecosystem value, while the ecosystems are facing increasing environmental pressures. In this study, 73 samples of soil sediments in mangroves, paddy fields, grasslands, forests, and shrimp ponds were collected from Shankou Mangrove National Nature Reserve (SKMNNR), Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The pollution status and ecological risks of heavy metal elements of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb, V, and Co were determined using the enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulaton index (Igeo), and potential ecological risk index (PERI). The average concentration is shown to be substantially lower than the background value. In general, the Igeo values indicated that the pollution conditions of different land use types in SKMNNR are relatively minor. Most of the PERI values were at the moderate level. This study demonstrates that the current status of sediment quality in SKMNNR is relatively good, and the pollution level is relatively low. Large-scale coastal aquaculture development and industrial expansion should not no longer be permitted there.

Land reclamation pattern and environmental regulation guidelines for port clusters in the Bohai Sea, China.

Coastal land reclamation (CLR), particularly port reclamation, is a common approach to alleviating land shortages. However, the spatial extent, percentages, and processes of these newly reclaimed ports are largely unknown. The Bohai Sea is the most concentrated area of port reclamation worldwide. Thus, this study addresses the changes in the different coastline types and port reclamation process in the area. The reclamation area of the 13 ports in the Bohai Sea in 2002-2018 was 2,300 km2, which decreased the area of the sea by 3%. The natural coastline length in Tianjin decreased by 47.5 km, whereas the artificial coastline length increased by 46.6 km. Based on the port boundary, however, only 26.3% of the reclaimed areas have been used for port construction, which concentrates in the Tianjin and Tangshan ports. The ratio of built-up area within the ports is only 32.5%, and approximately 48.3% of the reclaimed areas have no construction projects. The port land reclamation in the Bohai Sea has been undergoing periods of acceleration, peak, deceleration, and stagnation since 2002. Hence, future port reclamation should not be totally prohibited, and fine management should be conducted based on the optimization of the reclaimed port area. The innovation of this research is its analysis of the port internal land use pattern, the percentage of built-up area in the ports, and the sustainability of port reclamation policies. The findings have vital implications for scientifically regulating the spatial pattern and exploring the utility of port reclamation.