下载掌阅APP，畅读海量书库
立即打开
Nature-based solutions are becoming increasingly recognized as important for addressing the complex challenges in hydrology, ecology, and biodiversity. The multiple functions of small, scattered wetlands that support ecosystem services and their socioeconomic benefits in different countries make these water bodies interesting to scientists and decision-makers. As unique pastoral landscapes in rural areas, farm ponds have represented such aquatic features throughout history in southern China but have not received the attention they deserve, especially in terms of government regulation and environmental policies. Urbanization in conjunction with land consolidation and the prevailing reservoir-based irrigation systems have now engendered the degradation of these small wetlands, while rural nonpoint and mini-point source pollution, increasing climatic extremes, and invasive species have expedited water quality deterioration and adjacent ecosystem degradation.
Awide array of conservation strategies is proposed, starting with public awareness building and inventory mapping, thus creating a foundation for appropriate conservation. Top-down regulations and bottom-up engagement are simultaneously encouraged to ensure policy effectiveness and public initiatives, while sustainable management and utilization are necessary to reduce adverse influences on the aquatic ecosystems. Ultimately, with wide participation, IoT-based collaborative monitoring and the integration of process-based models are recommended to quantify the ecological processes,ecosystem services, and cost-efficiency of conservation programs. As a first synthetic perspective to emphasize the ecological roles of farm ponds in agriculturally dominated developing countries, this paper calls for attention to these endangered water bodies and encourages sustainable rural development among policy-makers, stakeholders, and the general public. The analytical framework and comprehensive suggestions are also referential to other small,scattered wetlands for which restoration efforts are required.