Hongze Lake Eastern Wetland Reserve

Hongze Lake Eastern Wetland Reserve

The Hongze Lake Eastern Wetland Reserve is centered around the Hongze Lake Dyke and is located within the territories of Hongze County, Xuyi County, and Huaiyin District in Huai'an City. In August 2006, with the approval of the Jiangsu Provincial Government, the Hongze Lake Eastern Wetland Provincial Nature Reserve was established in Huai'an City. The wetland along the Hongze Lake Dyke is a major component of the Hongze Lake Eastern Wetland Reserve, playing an important role in environmental protection and ecological improvement, among other social benefits. The wetland area along the dyke includes the water surface of Hongze Lake in front of the dyke, the wave-breaking and shelter forests on the dyke itself, the river along the back of the dyke, as well as rich biodiversity such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, higher plants, benthic organisms, fish, and birds. mXd Jiangsu Province Sanhe Sluice Information Network

Spanning tens of thousands of hectares, the Hongze Lake Wetland boasts rich biodiversity and serves as a habitat for many rare and endangered bird species such as cranes and swans. With its diverse wetland vegetation communities, it has been listed as a priority conservation area in China's National Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan and is recognized as a national-level wetland reserve. mXd Jiangsu Province Sanhe Sluice Information Network

Survey results show that the Hongze Lake Wetland has identified 165 species of phytoplankton, 81 species of aquatic higher plants, 91 species of zooplankton, 69 species of benthic animals, 102 species of fish, and 194 species of birds. The Hongze Lake Wetland maintains a rich diversity of biological characteristics.