Zhen-Ming Ge

• PhD
• East China Normal University

Coastal salt marsh wetlands are crucial reservoirs of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). However, the effects of plant type, geomorphology, and macrobenthos on spatial variations in soil C and N in coastal wetlands remain unclear. In this study, the spatial distribution of soil C and N components was investigated in a coastal wetland (Jiuduansha Sho...

A process-based ecological model (SMM-YE) was coupled with a hydrodynamic model (Delft3D) for understanding the biogeomorphology of coastal salt marsh in the Yangtze Estuary. The original SMM-YE mainly consists of modules for seed germination, propagule dispersal, seedling establishment, and biomass growth of marsh vegetation. Delft3D was used to s...

Due to the increasing risk of coastal disasters and climate change, the traditional gray sea dikes may become unsustainable. Coastal wetlands provide natural protection for shoreline areas and have wave attenuation capacities as green dikes. In this study, we developed a new assessment approach to evaluate comprehensive dike risk for coastal gray-g...

Coastal wetlands are recognized as carbon sinks that play an important role in mitigating global climate change because of the strong carbon uptake by vegetation and high carbon sequestration in the soil. Over the last few decades, plastic waste pollution in coastal zones has become increasingly serious owing to high-intensity anthropogenic activit...

The impact of land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) on ecosystem carbon (C) dynamics has been previously documented at local and global scales, but uncertainty persists for coastal wetlands due to geographical variability and field data limitations. Field-based assessments of plant and soil C contents and stocks of various LULCC types were conduct...

Background and aim Coastal marshes and wetlands hosting blue carbon ecosystems have shown vulnerability to sea-level rise (SLR) and its consequent effects. In this study, we explored the effects of waterlogging and elevated salinity on the accumulation and allocation of photosynthetic carbon (C) in a widely distributed species in marsh lands. Meth...

Coastal marshes play a notable role in sequestering carbon in plants and soil; however, coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to global change in terms of sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion. The effects of independent and interactive hydrological treatments of waterlogging and elevated salinity on soil CO2 effluxes in Spartina alterniflora marshes...

Coastal marsh vegetation plays an important role in coastal protection by attenuating waves and mitigating shoreline erosion. However, the different vegetations show wide variability in biophysical properties on seasonal and spatial scales, and the effectiveness of coastal vegetation on wave attenuation remains uncertain. In the spring, summer, and...

Coastal salt marshes are biogeomorphic ecosystems with coupled vegetation and hydro-sedimentary processes. A significant biogeomorphic feature with a positive loop between vegetation colonization, sedimentary accretion, and edge scarp progradation can be found in coastal marshes with a highly depositional environment, such as the Yangtze Estuary. T...

Recruiting native coastal vegetation and preventing the reinvasion of exotic Spartina alterniflora is a major challenge in China, due to harsh tidal environment for vegetation establishment and rapid Spartina colonization. This paper first reviewed the revegetation course of native Scirpus mariqueter in a coastal wetland in the Yangtze Estuary, whe...

Intertidal creeks play an important role in transporting nutrients between coastal ecosystems and ocean. Reclamation is a predominant anthropogenic disturbance in coastal regions; however, the influence of reclamation on carbon and nitrogen species and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in creek remains unclear. In a subtropical salt marsh of eastern Chin...

Understanding the mechanisms and controlling factors of ecosystem CO2 exchange in tidal wetlands is of great benefit for research concerning the global carbon cycle and climate change. In spite of this, the multiple controls of ecosystem-atmosphere CO2 exchange in coastal wetlands subject to subdaily tidal flooding have yet to be adequately address...

We studied the growth responses of boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) and silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) seedlings to simulated climate warming of an average of 1.3 °C over the growing season in a controlled field experiment in central Finland. We had six replicate plots for elevated and ambient tempe...

Coastal plants have unique adaptability to cope with strong hydrological stresses in tidal wetlands. A fundamental understanding of the establishment and maintenance of coastal plants is needed for conservation and restoration. In the Yangtze Estuary, the plasticity of the morphological and reproductive traits of a pioneer Scirpus species (sedge),...

Combined effects of vegetation, tide and sediment on the carbon dynamics in the intertidal creek-marsh systems remain unclear. We investigated the variability of dissolved organic (DOC) and inorganic carbon (DIC), and particulate organic (POC) and inorganic carbon (PIC) in the tidal creeks within the Poaceae and Cyperaceae communities on flood-ebb...

Salt marshes (a type of coastal wetland with herbaceous plants) are one of the most productive ecosystems. The organic matter accumulated by plants, together with deposition of inorganic mineral sediments, contributes to vertical marsh growth and determines the marsh ability to cope with regional sea level rise. Deposition of mineral sediment, in t...

Over the past 20 years, S. alterniflora, as an exotic species, has invaded into large areas covered by the native salt-marsh vegetation in the Yangtze Estuary. The original spatial pattern “mudflat - S. mariqueter - P. australis” pattern in the Yangtze Estuary was disturbed due to S. alterniflora invasion and shifted to three types, i.e. original “...

Coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to plant invasion and expected sea level rise in China. This study explored the responses of microbial communities and extracellular enzyme activity in the marsh soils of native Phragmites australis and exotic Spartina alterniflora to waterlogging and increasing salinity (to mimic prolonged inundation and saltwater...

Estuarine salt marshes have been recognized as one of the most efficient carbon sinks in the biosphere, with considerable potential for climate change mitigation. However, there are still uncertainties about the response of soil carbon stocks to enhanced soil salinization caused by accelerated sea‐level rises and aggravated saltwater intrusion. We...

Land‐use/land‐cover change (LULCC) often results in degradation of natural wetlands and affects the dynamics of greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, the magnitude of changes in GHG emissions from wetlands undergoing various LULCC types remains unclear. We conducted a global meta‐analysis with a database of 209 sites to examine the effects of LULCC typ...

Revegetation of pioneer plants is a critical phase in community establishment for mudflats in seriously degraded coastal wetlands. We tested a hypothesis of the importance of a “power balance” among propagule resilience and sedimentary and tidal disturbances for vegetation reestablishment. Our experiment used three types of propagules (seeds, seedl...

Self-organized spatial patterns are increasingly recognized for their contribution to ecosystem functioning, in terms of enhanced productivity, ecosystem stability, and species diversity in terrestrial as well as marine ecosystems. Most studies on the impact of spatial self-organization have focused on systems that exhibit regular patterns. However...

The exotic Spartina alterniflora, which is native to North America, has rapidly invaded the entire eastern coast of China in recent decades. It is not clear whether elevated salinity and inundation associated with accelerated sea-level rises and saltwater intrusion will further increase the already dramatic rates of plant invasions in the future. I...

The ecophysiological characteristics of native Phragmites australis and exotic Spartina alterniflora grown under waterlogging and salinity were investigated to explore their adaptation potential to sea level rise. The seasonal course of phenotypic traits, photosynthetic activity and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of P. australis did not change...

We quantified the independent impacts of flooding salinity, flooding depth, and flooding frequency on the native species, Phragmites australis and Scirpus mariqueter, and on the invasive species Spartina alterniflora in the Yangtze River Estuary, China. Total biomass of all three species decreased significantly with increasing salinity, but S. alte...

Salt marshes are valuable ecosystems that provide important ecosystem services. Given the global scale of marsh loss due to climate change and coastal squeeze, there is a pressing need to identify the critical extrinsic (wind exposure and foreshore morphology) and intrinsic factors (soil and vegetation properties) affecting the erosion of salt mars...

As part of research into the re-establishment of the native species Scirpus mariqueter in the salt marshes of the Yangtze Estuary, the roles of revegetation mode (planting density), site characteristics (sediment texture and hydrological regime) and community age (recently restored and mature marshes) in the storage of soil organic carbon (SOC) and...

Coastal wetlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Large quantities of sediment deposited in the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary by the Changjiang River promote the propagation of coastal wetlands, the expansion of saltmarsh vegetation, and carbon sequestration. In this study, using the Chongming Dongtan Wetland in the Changjiang estu...

The impacts of sea-level rise (SLR) on coastal ecosystems have attracted worldwide attention in relation to global change. In this study, the salt marsh model for the Yangtze Estuary (SMM-YE, developed in China) and the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM, developed in the U.S.) were used to simulate the effects of SLR on the coastal salt mars...

Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a significant threat to many coastal areas and will likely have important impacts on socio-economic development in those regions. Located on the eastern coast in China, the megacity of Shanghai is particularly vulnerable to SLR and associated storm surge risks. Using the municipality of Shanghai as a case study, the possi...

The sea level rise (SLR) caused by global climate change will have a great impact on the coastal areas. This will affect significantly the socio-economic development in the region. The study of the responses of coastal systems to climate change, assessment of the effects of climate change on the coastal systems, and proposal of feasible mitigation...

Coastal salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the world. However, rapid changes in the vegetation communities of salt marshes caused by exotic species invasion and plant propagation requires a better understanding of how these shifts affect the landscape-scale variations of gross primary production (GPP). In the Yangtze Estuary o...

The extent of the Chinese endemic salt marsh community characterized by the sedge, Scirpus mariqueter, which is identified as the most favorable habitat for local biodiversity, has been shrunk due to the rapid expansion of exotic Spartina alterniflora. Based on an ecological engineering aimed at annihilating this invasive species, the increases in...

To explore the effects of sea level rise (SLR), sediment reduction (SR) and saltwater intrusion (SWI) on the vegetation patterns and primary production of one exotic (Spartina alterniflora) and two native dominant (Scirpus mariqueter and Phragmites australis) species in the coastal wetlands of East China, range expansion monitoring and stress exper...

Sea-level rise caused by global climate change will have significant impacts on the coastal zone. On tropical and subtropical coasts, mangrove ecosystems occur in the intertidal zone and are particularly sensitive to sea-level rise. Taking the mangrove ecosystems in the coastal zone of Guangxi province, China, as a case study, the potential impacts...

The exotic Spartina alterniflora from North America has been rapidly invading the entire Chinese coast, while the impacts of plant invasion on the gross (GPP) and net primary production (NPP) of the coastal salt marshes were less known. In this study, we investigated the photosynthetic performance, leaf characteristics and primary production of the...

The invasion of Spartina alterniflora along the coasts of China has allowed this C4 grass to outcompete often much of the native, salt marsh vegetation, such as Phragmites australis (C3 grass), in the Yangtze Estuary. In this study, native grass, P. australis, and non-native grass, S. alterniflora, were grown in fresh and saline water (moderate sal...

The comprehensive assessment of ecosystems is highlighted as one of the most important parts of ecosystem-based management (EBM) that must be addressed. In this paper, taking Chongming Dongtan coastal zone in the Yangtze Estuary as a case study, an example of the EBM approach to the assessment of ecosystem quality and degradation response to human...

This study reports eddy-covariance measurements of carbon and water fluxes in a boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest during the 1999-2008 growing seasons. We found that gross primary productivity (GPP) was limited by low rainfall and low summer temperatures, whereas evapotranspiration (ETP) was limited by temperature and precipitation. GPP w...

The high productivity of saltmarsh vegetation in coastal wetlands plays an important role on the formation of soil carbon pool. This paper studied the biomass difference, the spatiotemporal dynamics and vertical distribution of soil carbon storage in three dominant saltmarsh plant communities, i. e., Phragmites australis, Spartina alterniflora and...

To study the response of coastal wetlands to climate change, assess the impacts of climate change on the coastal wetlands and formulate feasible and practical mitigation strategies are the important prerequisite for securing coastal ecosystems. In this paper, the possible impacts of sea level rise caused by climate change on the coastal wetlands in...

The natural processes of mudflat accretion, vegetation succession, and plant invasion and associated anthropogenic impacts make the Yangtze Estuary an ideal area for the study of salt marsh dynamics. In order to understand the biotic and abiotic factors regulating the spatiotemporal dynamics of salt marsh vegetation in relation to the expansion of...

This study reports eddy-covariance measurements of carbon and water fluxes in a boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest during the 1999–2008 growing seasons. We found that gross primary productivity (GPP) was limited by low rainfall and low summer temperatures, whereas evapotranspiration (ETP) was limited by temperature and precipitation. GPP w...

Spartina alterniflora has been widely introduced to many coastal and estuarine regions of the world as a species for ecological engineering and this species has been spreading rapidly and widely along the Chinese coastline for the past 30 years. Based on four years of field measurements at the Chongming Dongtan wetland in the Yangtze Estuary, a pro...

Norway spruce (Picea abies) is sensitive to decreases in soil water availability. In this study, we simulated how the climate change may influence the hydrological processes with impacts on the growth of Norway spruce in three sites located in southern Finland (61oN). The sites differed from each other in regard to the climate and soil water condit...

The boreal aquatic crop reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L., hereafter RCG) is widely cultivated for bioenergy production in northern Europe, where climate change is likely to modify the growing conditions for this species substantially. In this context, we analyzed and modeled the effects of elevated temperature and CO2 together with variab...

An auto-controlled climate system was used to study how a boreal bioenergy crop (reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinacea L., hereafter RCG) responded to a warming climate and elevated CO2. Over one growing season (April–September of 2009), RCG from young and old cultivations (3 years [3-year] and 10 years [10-year]) was grown in closed chambers und...

The aim of this study was to estimate the potential impacts of climate change on the spatial patterns of primary production and net carbon sequestration in relation to water availability in Norway spruce (Picea abies) dominated forests throughout Finland (N 60°–N 70°). The Finnish climatic scenarios (FINADAPT) based on the A2 emission scenario were...

We hypothesized that the responses of boreal Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests to climate change would be region-specific due to regional differences in temperature and water availability. In this context, we analyzed the adaptive effects of varied thinning intensities on the gross primary production (GPP), total stem wood growth, and timber yiel...

This paper describes the technical information and performance of a new multi-objective chamber system enabling the control of environmental variables (e.g., temperature, CO2, air humidity, wind speed, and UV-B radiation) for understanding plant responses to climate change. Over a whole growing season, four different climate scenarios were evenly p...

The aim of this work was to study the acclimation of photosynthesis in a boreal grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) grown in controlled environment chambers under elevated temperature (ambient + 3.5°C) and CO2 (700 μmol mol−1) with varying soil water regimes. More specifically, we studied, during two development stages (early: heading; late: florescenc...

The responses of carbon assimilation and allocation in different plant organs to changed environment depend on the species, their phenology and growth conditions. An integrated experiment was conducted over an entire growing season to understand the effects of elevated growth temperature (ambient + 3.5 °C) and CO2 (700 μmol mol−1) on the seasonal p...

We investigated the seasonal variability of effects of elevated temperature (+3.5°C), CO2 elevation (700 μmol mol−1) and varying water regimes (high to low water content) on physiological responses and biomass growth of reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L., local field-grown cultivar) grown in a boreal environment. In controlled environment g...

The effects of elevated growth temperature (ambient + 3.5°C) and CO2 (700 μmol mol−1) on leaf photosynthesis, pigments and chlorophyll fluorescence of a boreal perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) under different water regimes (well watered to water shortage) were investigated. Layer-specific measurements were conducted on the top (younger lea...

The aim of this work was to test a process-based model (hydrological model combined with forest growth model) on the simulation of seasonal variability of evapotranspiration (ET) in an even-aged boreal Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stand over a 10 year period (1999–2008). The water flux components (including canopy transpiration (Et) and evapora...

• Introduction Based on previous studies, it is assumed that the growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies) in southern Finland (61°N) may decrease under the changing climate due to the increasing soil water deficit, without management. • Materials and methods A process-based ecosystem model was employed to study how varying thinning scenarios (nine dif...

A process-based ecosystem model was used to assess the impacts of changing climate on net photosynthesis and total stem wood growth in relation to water availability in two unmanaged Norway spruce (Picea abies) dominant stands with a mixture of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and birch (Betula sp.). The mixed stands were grown over a 100-year rotatio...

In order to assess the capacity of the boreal forest ecosystem to intercept atmospheric carbon over a period of years, a climate-driven growth model (FinnFor, process-based) was applied to calculate the seasonal and inter-annual variability of net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) and component carbon fluxes (gross primary production – GPP and total eco...

This work examined the effects of elevated CO2 and temperature and water regimes, alone and in interaction, on the leaf characteristics [leaf area (LA), specific leaf weight (SLW), leaf nitrogen content (NL) based on LA], photosynthesis (light-saturated net carbon fixation rate, Psat) and carbon storage in aboveground biomass of leaves (Cl) and ste...

An integrated process-based model was used to study how the changing climate affects the availability of water and nitrogen, and consequently the dynamics of productivity of Norway spruce (Picea abies) on sites with different initial soil water conditions in southern Finland over a 100-year period. The sensitivity of the total stem volume growth in...

Wetlands play an important role in carbon balance of nature and global climate regulation. In China, the huge area of wetlands in Yangtze River estuary is internationally recognized as the eco-sensitive zone. Of this region, taking Chongming Dongtan wetland, which is the typical ecosystem of Yangtze River estuary, as the representative site for the...

The Jiuduansha wetland is a shoal which formed in the Yangtze River estuary during the 1940s. Shorebird surveys were conducted at Jiuduansha wetland in 2004-2005 during the spring (northerly) and autumn (southerly) migration seasons. Over 6000 individuals of 25 shorebird species were recorded at the wetland during spring and 3000 birds during autum...

According to the policy-decision of ecological island construction, and based on the 1998-2004 statistic yearbooks of Chongming Island and the investigation in 2005-2006, the evaluation index system of ecological carrying capacity of Chongming Island, Shanghai was established , which included one overall objective, 3 sub-objectives, and 41 indices....

The carrying capacity of food resources for migrating shorebirds was estimated at a stopover site in the Yangtze River Estuary during the two migratory seasons (spring and autumn). From March to May and September to November 2005, the macrobenthos resources of the Jiuduansha Wetland were investigated, and most of the macrobenthos species in the new...

From the beginning of December 2006 to the end of February 2007, observations were made on the daytime (6:30-19:30) behaviors of 7 dominant species of wintering waterfowls in the secondary artificial wetland (fish-crab pond) at Chongming Dongtan. The results indicated that Egretta garzetta, Ardea cinerea and Anas poecilorhyncha mostly showed standi...

From March to September of 2006, an ornithological research in Shanghai Expo's site and its surrounding areas was conducted, and the correlations of the avian species and number with environmental factors were investigated. A total of 10 orders, 27 families and 67 species of birds were recorded, and the avian diversity index was 3.46. The statistic...

Migratory shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway use the Shanghai shoreline as an important stopover site. Until recently, little was known about the influence of intensive reclamation on the shorebirds using this shoreline. We investigated the distribution of shorebirds in 10 fixed-sample sites in 2004-05 and compared the results with th...

To understand the temporal and spatial fluctuations of macrobenthos community in a newly established Jiuduansha wetland in Yangtze River Estuary, an investigation was made on the main habitats of three shoals in the wetland from November 2004 to October 2005. The results showed that the macrobenthos community in the wetland had the highest biomass...

Jiuduansha Wetland is a newly formed intertidal wetland, which consists of three parts, i. e., Shangsha, Zhongsha and Xiasha. The study on the succession and distribution pattern of vegetation communities on this wetland in 2004 showed that the dominant species were Phragmites australis, Spartina alterniflo, Scirpus mariqueter, and Scirpus triquete...

The carrying capacity of food supply was measured in a stopover site at the Yangtze River Mouth for the migrating shorebirds during the two migratory seasons Spring and autumn). From March to April and September to October 2005, the macrobenthos resources of Jiudhansha wetland were investigated, and the most macrobenthos species in the new-formed s...

From November 2004 to October 2005, an investigation was made on the seasonal fluctuation of macrobenthos community in the Jiuduansha intertidal wetland of Yangtze River Estuary, with the correlations between this fluctuation and sediment factors studied. 864 samples were collected seasonally from 216 sites in 7 sampling transects. A total of 30 sp...

The mouth of the Yangtze River is an important stopover site for migratory shorebirds using the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. From 1984 to 2004, we censused and banded shorebirds and monitored hunting activities at the mouth of the Yangtze River to understand how shorebirds used the study area. Counts and banding data revealed greater numbers of...

Coastal regions are important habitats for migratory shorebirds. The aim of the study is to understand habitat use by migratory shorebirds and to develop a conservation strategy in the sustainable use of wetlands. From March 2004 to January 2005, we conducted a seasonal shorebirds census in ten coastal habitats along the South Yangtze River mouth a...

From December 2004 to May 2005, an avian study was undertaken in the artificial wetlands of 200-ha area behind the 1998's seawall in Chongming Dongtan, Shanghai. A total of 56 bird species of 8 orders and 15 families were counted in the winter of 2004, and the dominant species were waterbirds and shorebirds; 55 species of 10 orders and 19 families...