Tidal flats and estuaries in the Yellow
Sea are arguably one of the most endangered, valuable, and
productive habitats in the Yellow Sea ecoregion. Annually
they host thousands of migratory Australasian wading birds
during the spring and fall including critically endangered
Spoon-billed Sandpipers and Nordmann's Greenshank. During
the summer they play host to numerous breeding birds
including endangered Black-faced Spoobills, Saunder's
Gulls, and a diverse array of long-legged waders and
shorebirds. During the winter they support numerous species
of Arctic and near-Arctic breeders who come to spend the
cold months feeding on the rich tidal flats. Besides the
obvious value to the avifauna the Republic of Korea's (ROK)
Yellow Sea tidal flats and estuaries possess great economic
and culture value as they play a critical role in
supporting the regions fisheries and fishery cultures.
I am working with Birds Korea to understand the impacts of
tidal flat and estuary loss on birds in the Yellow Sea
region of the ROK. The first step in this process is to
determine how much tidal flat remains. Data deficiencies
and lack of publicly available imagery and spatial data
make determining the remaining modern tidal flat area
problematic and difficult. I am currently using a
combination of Google Earth and Daum (www.daum.net) imagery
to estimate tidal flat cover in the region in 10 minute x
10 minute grids. I am incorporating this data into Arc-GIS
to visually project tidal flat densities along the west
coast of the ROK and relate this information to shorebird
surveys to identify tidal flats of key conservation
concern.
A second goal is to map and estimate the amount of tidal
flat and estuary loss over time. Using a combination of
historical declassified aerial and Global Land Survey
satellite imagery I am estimating changes in coastal land
use including reclamation activities. By comparing
historical mid-20th and modern early 21st century shoreline
data I have documented remarkable changes in coastal shape
and land area gain. For example (in the animated map below)
in the last 50 years over over 3,500 square km of estuary
and tidal flat have been reclaimed. This reshaping of the
coastline into a less meandering shape has resulted in a
nearly 30% reduction in coastline. Besides quantitatively
estimating habitat loss overtime, a major objective of
mapping is to present tidal flat and estuary loss to
reclamation in a visually stimulating form in order to
convey the seriousness of the environmental degradation in
the region.
A map
depicting the dramatic reshaping of the Republic of Korea's
coastline,
through reclamation, over the past 50 years.
A
third and final goal will be to incorporate predictive
models, based on predetermined rates of habitat loss, on
how much tidal flat will remain in the next 10, 20, 50, and
100 years. In addition, this will require the incorporation
of global climate change effects of rising seas.
Ultimately, I hope to determine which tidal flats and
associated bird species should be the focus of conservation
priority in the near and distant future.
For those interested in learning more about bird
conservation in the ROK I encourage you to join Birds Korea
at www.birdskorea.org (it's free!)
Contact Info: tyler.hicks@birdskorea.org