Ecosystem Services

**65**

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

nature based solution

**1. Introduction**

Environmental and Education

Trials for Mangrove Ecosystem

Based on Chinese ecological policy, we have been studying mangrove ecosystems

in southern China, especially from the perspective of pollutants deposition in mangrove wetlands, physiological ecology of mangrove species on the impact of heavy metal pollution and seeking ecosystem restoration. For these, we explored in three aspects: 1) pollutants distribution and ecological risk in main distribution of mangrove, China, 2) eco-statistics and microbial analyses of mangrove ecosystems (including shellfish) in representative locations where mangrove plants are well developed, especially in Shenzhen, a rapid developing economic city in Guangdong Province, 3) ecophysiological experiments on a representative species of mangrove for evaluating combination effects of major nutrient elements and heavy metal pollution on growth and physiological responses of the seedlings. Based on the results, we proposed how to rehabilitate mangrove ecosystem in China under rapidly changing environmental conditions, with a view to our future survival and to provide nature-based solution as well as the public with more ecosystem services.

**Keywords:** ecosystem, wetland, pollution, restoration, subtropical mangroves,

Well-developed mangrove forest in southern China has increased their values of environment, eco-tourism resources, and conservation of biodiversity, etc. [1–3]. Mangrove ecosystems are also expected to provide many ecological services: (1) provisioning, (2) regulation, (3) culture, and (4) basic service [4, 5]. Basic service, i.e., means primary productivity of plants, soil formation and nutrient cycling, etc. The rest services are depending on basic services. Therefore, ecophysiology of mangrove is the most fundamental and essential information for this chapter.

In terms of ecological functions, mangroves can provide (1) many foods including fish, shellfish via offering their habitats, dye materials, wood and materials for high quality charcoal, etc., (2) maintain marsh ecosystems: soil conservation, reduction of storm disasters, wave attenuation, acceleration of reclamation, contaminant degradation, clean the atmosphere and marine environment, (3) ecotourism, culture, scientific resources, etc., (4) CO2 fixation and O2 evolution, biomass production, nutrient circulation [6]. However, an increase of anthropogenic

Rehabilitation in China

*Guoyu Qiu and Takayoshi Koike*

*Ruili Li, Minwei Chai, Xiaoxue Shen, Cong Shi,* 

#### **Chapter 4**
