BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have determined the potential prioritized restoration zone of northeast China's Sanjiang Plain wetlands.

Efforts have been made to improve the wetlands for animal inhabitation and ecological protection of the Sanjiang Plain. Wetland restoration research often takes factors like water, soil nutrition, and biological habitats into consideration, while seldom considers the viability of seed banks.

The wetland restoration based on seed bank viability can protect biodiversity and save restoration costs.

The researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences hoped to prioritize areas for wetland restoration in scientific planning and policymaking. Therefore, they assessed the recovery potential of natural wetlands based on land-use change trajectory, seed bank viability, and watershed sustainability.

They found that it is possible to plan 17 sub-catchments with a total area of 2,177 square kilometers to allow priority restoration in the short, medium, and long term of five to 15 years.

The results can support the scientific planning demands of various restoration goals in the study area, and provide a new method for wetland restoration, stated the research article published in the journal Science of The Total Environment (Xinhua).