The evaluation of wetland reconstruction with nature-based solutions for eco-economic sustainable development

• Published in: Ecological indicators 2024-03, Vol.160, p.111936, Article 111936
• Main Authors: Sun, Jinfang, Yuan, Xingzhong, Liu, Guodong, Ren, Rongrong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Eco-economic system; Emergy/exergy; Nature-based solutions; Three Gorges Reservoir; Water-level fluctuation zone; Wetland reconstruction
• ISSN: 1470-160X; 1872-7034
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111936

•We reconstructed a complex wetland with nature-based solutions.•This eco-economic system was driven by renewable emergy flows and high exergy.•The mulberry-related industry provided good economic benefits.•The stable equilibria of the eco-economic coupling mode represented a state of synergistic symbiosis. Nature-based solutions (NBS) are effective approaches for solving ecological and economic problems related to wetland reconstruction, while emergy and exergy are well suited for evaluating reconstructed eco-economic systems. In this paper, we executed a wetland reconstruction project involving a mulberry-fir woodland and dike-pond complex (MFWDPC) with NBS in the water-level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), China. We evaluated the coupling mode of this eco-economic system by using emergy and exergy theories. After wetland reconstruction, the emergy density that entered the MFWDPC was 1.48E + 18 sej yr−1 hm−2, in which the naturally renewable flow accounted for 96.31 % of the emergy inflows, and the emergy sustainability index (ESI) for the eco-economic system was 708.88. The exergy and specific exergy were 2.41E + 14 j yr−1 and 2.08E + 08 j yr−1 kg−1, respectively, and the emergy/exergy ratio was 1.55E + 03 for the MFWDPC. In addition, mulberry trees with strong flooding tolerance provided good economic benefits due to the use of these plants in reconstructed eco-economic systems. Our study of NBS for wetland reconstruction helps in understanding the synergistic symbiosis between ecosystems and economic systems, thereby promoting the reconstruction of degraded wetlands in China and other regions.