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Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 24352

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ebrahem M. Eid

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Guest Editor

Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Interests: wetland ecology; carbon sequestration; plant population ecology; ecological modelling; phytoremediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Kamal Hussien Shaltout

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Guest Editor

Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
Interests: wetland ecology; ecology of plant populations and commuities; biodiversity conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Tarek M. Galal

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Guest Editor

Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo 11795, Egypt
Interests: phytoremediation; plant population dynamics; plant diversity; biodiversity and weed function of the agro-ecosystems; environmental impact assessment; weed-crop interactions; heavy metal uptake by crop plants and their associated health risks
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wetlands are of ecological importance due to their hydrological attributes, their role as ecotones between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and their high plant and animal productivity. They are sources, sinks, and transformers of numerous chemical, biological, and genetic materials and provide valuable habitats for marine coastal biota. Wetlands play a crucial role as an essential human habitat and in the continuity and evolution of the human species. The unique nature of wetlands facilitates the performance of a vast range of intrinsic and valuable functions. There is growing appreciation of the role that these ecosystems play in the conservation of species. The conservation and overseeing of these ecosystems should therefore be viewed as a paramount component of environmental protection strategy. However, these territories are extremely endangered, representing areas undergoing alarmingly swift annihilation, particularly coastal wetlands.

Combustion of fossil fuel and changes in land use, such as those resulting from deforestation, are considered the primary causes for the increasing concentration of atmospheric CO₂. Recently, CO₂ has been increasing at a rate of 1.7 ppmv yr⁻¹ or 0.46% yr⁻¹, accelerating global climate change. Mitigation of global warming is becoming increasingly important as the effects of climate change are becoming apparent around the world. Although wetlands occupy only 5–8% of the Earth’s land surface, they contain about 68% of the terrestrial soil carbon reserves and have an important role in carbon sequestration. Hence, wetlands represent one of the largest biological carbon stocks and play a decisive role in the global carbon cycle.

This Special Issue will cover the following themes: wetlands ecology; population ecology and biology of aquatic species; invasive species in wetlands; aquatic life in wetlands; species extinction and loss of biological diversity in wetlands; ecosystem services of wetlands; succession in wetlands; loss of wetlands; sustainable wetlands management; restoration of wetlands; sea level trends and impacts on coastal wetlands; aquatic ecosystem assessment; eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems; water and sediment pollution; and wetland remediation. This Special Issue will also cover other themes related to role of wetlands in mitigating the global warming, such as GHG emissions and impacts; climate change effects; carbon capture and sequestration; soil organic carbon pools; simulation models for understanding and predicting soil carbon sequestration; mitigation measures; and mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The goal of this Special Issue is to provide an assessment, evaluation, and solutions for the problems related to wetlands, such as degradation (loss) and pollution, and to emphasize their role in mitigating global warming.

Prof. Dr. Ebrahem M. Eid
Prof. Dr. Kamal Hussien Shaltout
Prof. Dr. Tarek M. Galal
Guest Editors

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Keywords

biodiversity and conservation
carbon sequestration
climate change
ecosystem dynamics
ecosystem services
loss and gain of wetlands
mitigation and adaptation strategies
mitigation measures
pollution
restoration and habilitation
simulation models
soil organic carbon
sustainable wetland management
wetland ecology
wetland hydrology

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7770 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of the Freshwater Bivalves Corbicula fluminea and Dreissena polymorpha in the Lower Sector of the Danube River and the Danube Delta

by Ana Bianca Pavel, Catalin Gheablau, Sylvain Kreuter, Irina Catianis, Albert Scrieciu and Alin Enache

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8526; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118526 - 24 May 2023

Viewed by 1802

Abstract

The objective of this study is to provide an updated account of the distribution history of two invasive molluscs, Corbicula fluminea and Dreissena polymorpha, both in Europe and worldwide. In addition to this, the study also intends to review their ecological requirements to gain a better understanding of their invasive potential and distribution dynamics. Specifically, the study focuses on updating the distribution and ecological characteristics of these freshwater bivalves in the lower sector of the Danube River and the lakes of the Danube Delta. The purpose is to better understand their invasive and distribution dynamics and to develop effective measures to limit their spread in the future. To achieve this, environmental proxies such as sediment particle size and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) concentrations were used to assess their tolerances. However, the results did not show a significant correlation between the densities of these bivalves and the analyzed environmental parameters. Despite this, the species were found in high densities and formed well-developed benthic communities in some stations. The study contributes to the understanding of the invasiveness of these bivalve species and their distribution range dynamics. Nonetheless, further investigation is required to fully comprehend the role of environmental parameters in their distribution. The study covers the period between 2010 and 2020 and focuses on the lower Danube River sector and Danube Delta. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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9 pages, 4743 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Annual Mangrove Vegetation Cover Changes (2014–2020) in Indian Sundarbans National Park Using Landsat 8 and Google Earth Engine

by Gwendolyn Karsch, Sharif A. Mukul and Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5592; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065592 - 22 Mar 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2591

Abstract

Mangrove ecosystems have high ecological and economic value mainly because of their ability to sequester large amounts of carbon and protect shorelines. Monitoring such ecosystems with earth observation data analytics is necessary to achieve deeper insight and subsequent conservation strategies. The Sundarbans is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest, and Sundarbans National Park is a part of this world-famous mangrove forest in India. To examine vegetation change in this region, we used a planetary-scale tool, the Google Earth Engine. A time series of the surface reflectance product of Landsat 8 between 2014 and 2020 was analysed using annual median images. NDVI and dNDVI were derived to monitor vegetation cover change. While we noticed no major changes in the vegetation cover throughout the study area, the coastal regions, especially the southern end, showed significant changes. There were both mangrove vegetation gains due to land accretion and mangrove loss due to erosion and cyclone damage. This study will be useful for long-term monitoring of the imperiled Sundarbans ecosystem to measure any major changes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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19 pages, 15159 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Phenology Metrics for Vegetation Type Classification in Estuarine Wetlands Using Satellite Imagery

by Yu Gao, Zhaoling Hu, Zhen Wang, Qiang Shi, Dan Chen, Shuai Wu, Yajun Gao and Yuanzhi Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1373; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021373 - 11 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1604

Abstract

While the efficiency of incorporating phenology features into vegetation type classification, in general, and coastal wetland vegetation classification, in particular, has been verified, it is difficult to acquire high-spatial-resolution (HSR) images taken at appropriate times for vegetation identification using phenology features because of the coastal climate and the HSR satellite imaging cycle. To strengthen phenology feature differences, in this study, we constructed vegetation phenology metrics according to vegetation NDVI time series curves fitted by samples collected from the Linhong Estuary Wetland and Liezi Estuary Wetland based on Gao Fen (GF) series satellite images taken between 2018 and 2022. Next, we calculated the phenology metrics using GF series satellite imagery taken over the most recent complete phenology cycle: 21 October 2020, 9 January 2021, 19 February 2021, and 8 May 2021. Five vegetation type classifications in the Linhong Estuary Wetland were carried out using single images of 21 October 2020 and 8 May 2021, along with their combination and the further addition of phenology metrics. From our comparison and analysis, the following findings emerged: Combining the images taken in 21 October 2020 and 8 May 2021 provided better vegetation classification accuracy than any single image, and the overall accuracy was, respectively, increased from 47% and 48% to 67%, while the corresponding kappa was increased from 33% and 34% to 58%; however, adding phenology metrics further improved the accuracy by decreasing the effect of some confusion among different vegetation types, and the overall accuracy and kappa were further improved to 75% and 69%, respectively. Though some problems remain to be further dealt with, this exploration offers helpful insights into coastal wetland vegetation classification using phenology based on HSR imagery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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14 pages, 2532 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

The Relationship between Hydrological Connectivity Changes Inside and Outside Biodiversity Hotspots and Its Implication for Sustainable Environmental Management

by Wenhui Bao, Xingyu Zeng, Chunyu Luo, Hongqiang Zhang, Yi Qu and Nan Xu

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6654; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116654 - 29 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1697

Abstract

The conservation management of biodiversity hotspots is of vital significance for biological conservation. For wetlands, which are a special type of ecosystems that are based on water as their main medium, a decline in external hydrological connectivity often leads to wetland degradation inside biodiversity hotspots. In this context, the relationship between hydrological connectivity changes inside and outside hotspots is worth exploring. Based on the wetland biodiversity hotspots identified using systematic conservation planning, this study selected eight representative biodiversity hotspots with concentrated area. Integral index of connectivity, probability of connectivity (representing structural connectivity), and morphological spatial pattern analysis (representing functional connectivity) were used to analyze the hydrological connectivity changes inside various hotspots for 1995–2015. By taking the catchment area involved as the minimum basin perimeter, this study calculated the external hydrological connectivity changes of various hotspots during this period and analyzed the relationship between hydrological connectivity changes inside and outside of hotspots. The internal and external hydrological connectivity of wetland biodiversity hotspots were found to be significantly correlated. Moreover, the internal hydrological connectivity of hotspots not only declined with declining external structural connectivity, but also changed with the proportion of core wetlands, the proportion of edge wetlands, and the proportion of branch corridors. In addition, hotspots located at intersections of high-grade rivers were more significantly affected by climate change than by human activities and their hydrological connectivity increased with increasing rainfall. The internal hydrological connectivity of hotspots near low-grade rivers presented a declining trend, mainly because of human activities. This study clarified the relationship between internal and external hydrological connectivity of wetland biodiversity hotspots. Targeted internal and external control strategies are proposed, with the aim to offer references for the conservation of wetland biodiversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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16 pages, 6940 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Loss of Coastal Wetlands in Lake Burullus, Egypt: A GIS and Remote-Sensing Study

by Amr E. Keshta, J. C. Alexis Riter, Kamal H. Shaltout, Andrew H. Baldwin, Michael Kearney, Ahmed Sharaf El-Din and Ebrahem M. Eid

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 4980; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14094980 - 21 Apr 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3458

Abstract

Lake Burullus is the second largest lake at the northern edge of the Nile Delta, Egypt, and has been recognized as an internationally significant wetland that provides a habitat for migrating birds, fish, herpetofauna, and mammals. However, the lake is experiencing severe human impacts including drainage and conversion to agricultural lands and fish farms. The primary goal of this study was to use multispectral, moderate-spatial-resolution (30 m²) Landsat satellite imagery to assess marsh loss in Lake Burullus, Egypt, in the last 35 years (1985–2020). Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analyses (ISODATA) unsupervised techniques were applied to the Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager–Thermal Infrared Sensor (OLI–TIRS) satellite images for classification of the Lake Burullus area into four main land-use classes: water, marsh, unvegetated land surfaces (roads, paths, sand sheets and dunes), and agricultural lands and fish farms. The overall classification accuracy was estimated to be 96% and the Kappa index was 0.95. Our results indicated that there is a substantial loss (44.8% loss) in the marsh aerial coverage between 1985 and 2020. The drainage and conversion of wetlands into agricultural lands and/or fish farms is concentrated primarily in the western and southern part of the lake where the surface area of the agricultural lands and/or fish farms doubled (103.2% increase) between 2000 and 2020. We recommend that land-use-policy makers and environmental government agencies raise public awareness among the local communities of Lake Burullus of the economic and environmental consequences of the alarming loss of marshland, which will likely have adverse effects on water quality and cause a reduction in the invaluable wetland-ecosystem services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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22 pages, 3372 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Regression Models to Estimate Accumulation Capability of Six Metals by Two Macrophytes, Typha domingensis and Typha elephantina, Grown in an Arid Climate in the Mountainous Region of Taif, Saudi Arabia

by Yassin M. Al-Sodany, Muneera A. Saleh, Muhammad Arshad, Kadry N. Abdel Khalik, Dhafer A. Al-Bakre and Ebrahem M. Eid

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010001 - 21 Dec 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3468

Abstract

In this study, we explored the capacity for two promising macrophytes, Typha domingensis and Typha elephantina, to be used for the surveillance of contamination by six metals, i.e., Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, in the mountainous area of Taif City in Saudi Arabia. Regression models were generated in order to forecast the metal concentrations within the plants’ organs, i.e., the leaves, flowers, peduncles, rhizomes, and roots. The sediment mean values for pH and the six metals varied amongst the sampling locations for the respective macrophytes, indicating that similar life forms fail to indicate equivalent concentrations. For instance, dissimilar concentrations of the metals under investigation were observed within the organs of the two rooted macrophytes. The research demonstrated that the segregation of metals is a regular event in all the investigated species in which the metal concentrations vary amongst the different plant constituent types. In the current study, T. domingensis and T. elephantina varied in their capacity to absorb specific metals; the bioaccumulation of metals was greater within T. domingensis. The relationships between the observed and model-estimated metal levels, in combination with high R² and modest mean averaged errors, offered an appraisal of the goodness of fit of most of the generated models. The t-tests revealed no variations between the observed and model-estimated concentrations of the six metals under investigation within the organs of the two macrophytes, which emphasised the precision of the models. These models offer the ability to perform hazard appraisals within ecosystems and to determine the reference criteria for sediment metal concentration. Lastly, T. domingensis and T. elephantina exhibit the potential for bioaccumulation for the alleviation of contamination from metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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18 pages, 2784 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Standing Crop Biomass and Carbon Content of Mangrove Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. along the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia

by Kamal H. Shaltout, Mohamed T. Ahmed, Sulaiman A. Alrumman, Dalia A. Ahmed and Ebrahem M. Eid

Sustainability 2021, 13(24), 13996; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413996 - 18 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3440

Abstract

A number of Avicennia marina mangrove forests exist along the 1134 km stretch of the Saudi Red Sea coast. Three areas, one in each of the north, centre, and south of the coast, were selected for this investigation into the relationship between total biomass (above-ground, AGB, and below-ground, BGB), and biomass carbon stocks of A. marina, along the nutrient availability (combined with a salinity gradient). To estimate the total biomass stock, this research employed equations formulated through a regression approach. Various population characteristics (tree crown diameter, height, and density) and measurements of carbon (C) in the trees were captured, and other measurements were gathered to represent the environmental properties: electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) levels. With this data from the 21 stands and 7 sites of A. marina covered by the three locations chosen along the coast, it was concluded that a discernible influence is exerted by the concentrations of TP and TN in the sea water and sediments over the population characteristics of this plant. The resulting estimates also demonstrated a steady increase in total biomass and total biomass carbon storage from the mangroves in the north toward the south, with values changing overall from 197.9 to 1188.2 Mg DM ha⁻¹ and from 87.6 to 412.5 Mg C ha⁻¹ respectively. This illustrates that the biomasses held by the southern mangroves are 6 times (total) and 4.7 times (total carbon storage) higher than those in the north. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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12 pages, 1790 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prediction Models for Evaluating the Uptake of Heavy Metals by the Invasive Grass Vossia cuspidata (Roxb.) Griff. in the River Nile, Egypt: A Biomonitoring Approach

by Emad A. Farahat, Waleed F. Mahmoud, Hossam E. A. Awad, Hussein F. Farrag, Muhammad Arshad, Ebrahem M. Eid and Gamal M. Fahmy

Sustainability 2021, 13(19), 10558; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910558 - 23 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1786

Abstract

This study aimed to develop new prediction models that include sediment properties (pH, organic matter, and silt and clay concentrations) for estimating the potential uptake of heavy metals (HMs) by the invasive grass Vossia cuspidata. Plant and sediment samples were collected from the microsites that represent the natural distribution of the species in two Nile islands in Cairo, Egypt. The results show that the root was the main accumulating organ for the analyzed HMs (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, and Pb). The mean concentrations of Fe and Mn and the maximum concentrations of Cu, Ni, and Pb were phytotoxic. The values of the bioconcentration factor were >1, while the translocation factor was >1 for Zn and Cu in rhizome and stem, Mn in leaf, and Ni and Pb in stem and leaf. There were no significant differences between the measured and the predicted HM concentrations in all organs of the species. This indicates the excellent robustness of the developed regression models. Sixteen equations (out of 24) had high R² values. Thus, V. cuspidata could be considered a biomonitor for HM pollution, and the developed equations will benefit the prediction of HM uptake by the species in the River Nile ecosystem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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23 pages, 2914 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Optimized Two and Three-Band Spectral Indices and Multivariate Models to Assess Some Water Quality Indicators of Qaroun Lake in Egypt

by Salah Elsayed, Mohamed Gad, Mohamed Farouk, Ali H. Saleh, Hend Hussein, Adel H. Elmetwalli, Osama Elsherbiny, Farahat S. Moghanm, Moustapha E. Moustapha, Mostafa A. Taher, Ebrahem M. Eid and Magda M. Abou El-Safa

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10408; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810408 - 18 Sep 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 2865

Abstract

Standard methods are limited for monitoring and managing water quality indicators (WQIs) in real-time and on a large scale. Consequently, there is an urgent need to use reliable, practical, swift, and cost-effective monitoring tools that can be easily deployed and assist decision makers in assessing key indicators relevant to surface water quality in a comprehensive manner. Surface water samples were collected and evaluated for water quality at 16 distinct sites across the Qaroun Lake in 2018 and 2019. Different WQIs, including total dissolved solids (TDS), transparency, total suspended solids (TSS), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), and total phosphorus (TP), were tested for aquatic utilization. An integrated approach comprising WQIs, geospatial techniques, hyperspectral reflectance indices (SRIs) (commonly used SRIs, two-band and three-band SRIs (Spectral index calculated from water spectral reflectance of two or three wavelengths)), and partial least square regression (PLSR) models were used to assess the water quality of Qaroun Lake. According to the findings, the water quality attributes are polluted to varying degrees. The majority of commonly used SRIs presented moderately relationship with four WQIs (transparency, TSS, Chl-a, and TP) (R² = 0.45 to 0.64), while the majority of newly two-band SRIs (NSRIs-2b) indicated moderate to strong relationships with WQIs (R² = 0.51 to 0.74), and the majority of newly three band SRIs (NSRIs-3b) presented strong relationships with WQIs (R² = 0.67 to 0.81). Broadly, the highest coefficients of determination were noticed with the NSRIs-3b followed by the NSRIs-2b and then the commonly used SRIs. For example, the NSRIs-3b (NDSI_648,712,696) had stronger relationships with transparency, TSS, and Chl-a with R² = 0.77, 0.66, and 0.81, respectively, than other SRIs. In addition, the NSRIs-3b (NDSI_620,610,622) showed the highest R² of 0.73 with TSS. The NSRIs-3b coupling with PLSR predicted the WQIs with satisfactory accuracy in the calibration (reach up R² = 0.85) and validation (reach up R² = 0.81) datasets. The overall findings of this research study showed that deriving an optimized NSRIs-3b from spectrum region and combining it with PLSR model could be a practical tool for managing water quality of the Qaroun Lake by accurately, timely, and non-destructively monitoring the WQIs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Wetland Ecology and Environmental Sustainability)

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