Study on wetland biodiversity in China

Wetland biodiversity means mainly the types of wetland ecosystem and biological species diversity. Biodiversity includes all species of plants, animals and microbes, all gene possessed by them and all ecosystems consisting of them and environment. According to the origin and genesis, China’s wetlands can be divided into natural wetland ecosystems including mires, lakeshores, bottomland, seashore, wet meadow, etc., and artificial wetland ecosystem including paddy field. Then based on geomorphological type, these ecosystems can be divided into 15 subsystems, then based on soil substrata and ecological niche conditions, they can be subdivided into 15 classes, finally according to construction species of plants, several types can be divided into. They are not only the expression of ecosystem diversity, but also the base for biological communities subsistence. This peculiar ecological niche provides a complex and perfect special habitat for various animal and plant communities. In this special habitat, there exist various biological types from monomolecular microbes to higher plants and animals, especially some endangered and rare plants and animals. According to the statistics, there are more than 300 species of birds in China wetlands, making up one-third of the total number of China’s birds. Wetlands not only good place for waterbirds living, but also the important environment on which wild animals and plant rely for existence. There are 65 species of mammals, 50 species of reptiles, 45 species of amphibious animals, 1040 species of fish, 825 species of higher plants, 639 species of angiosperm, 10 species of gymnosperm, 12 species of pteridophyte and 164 species of bryophyte investigated in China’s wetlands.