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Abstract
There is increasing empirical evidence that changes in habitat quality play an important role in determining species distributions and biodiversity. However, most research has focused on habitat quality, and we still lack approaches for tracking habitat quality dynamics. In this paper, by establishing qualitative and quantitative relationships between waterbird populations and key habitat indicators such as water abundance, food, shelter conditions and disturbance, we developed an object-oriented classification method, in conjunction with a geographic information systems (GIS) based centroid moving method, to assess habitat suitability dynamics for waterbirds at the Momoge Nature Reserve, China. Our results showed that habitat suitability improved during 1990–2000 and declined during 2000– 2014. Habitats with very good and good grades increased by 71.47 km2 (4.88%) during 1990–2000 and decreased by 200.66 km2 (13.78%) during 2000–2014. The habitat area with a good grade moved to the north, while the habitat area with a poor grade moved to the south during 1990–2014. This was mainly because the surrounding cropland area increased and shifted as oil and gas projects developed. These findings suggest that our object-oriented classification and centroid moving methods have great potential for use in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management.
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Notes on contributors
Yue Zhang
Yue ZHANG. PhD student, lecturer of College of Resources and Environment, Jilin Agricultural University. Doctor of Cartography and geographic information system. Publications: author of over 10 scientific publications, participant of five international conferences. Research interests: wetland vegetation ecology.
Zongming Wang
Zongming WANG. PhD, Professor of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publications: author of over 30 scientific publications. Research interests: remote sensing and ecosystem services assessment of wetlands, and regional environmental changes.
Chunying Ren
Chunying REN. PhD, Associate professor of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. More than 20 scientific publications. Research interests: GIS technology, wetland landscape change analysis, remote sensing of resource and environment.
Hao Yu
Hao YU. PhD student of Northeast Institute of Geography Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Research interests: Resource and environment remote sensing, and land degradation and restoration.
Zhangyu Dong
Zhangyu DONG. PhD, lecturer of Hefei University of Technology. Doctor of Cartography and geographic information system. More than 30 scientific publications. Research interests: wetland restoration modelling.
Chunyan Lu
Chunyan LU. PhD, lecturer of Computer and Information Sciences College, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Doctor of Cartography and geographic information system. More than 20 scientific publications. Research interests: GIS technology, wetland landscape change analysis, remote sensing information processing.
Dehua Mao
Dehua MAO. PhD, Assistant Professor of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Publications: author of over 20 scientific publications. Research interests: remote sensing of wetland, landscape pattern and ecosystem services, vegetation net primary productivity and modelling.