Further wetland research in China

This Research Front extends our knowledge of wetland research in China and, in particular, builds on the special issue (Volume 69, issue 5) published in Marine and Freshwater Research following the 10th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference in Changshu, China, 19–24 September 2016, hosted by Nanjing University (An and Finlayson 2018). The Conference also produced the Changshu Declaration on Wetlands (Turner et al. 2017). In response to the Declaration and recognising the value of sharing information about wetlands in China, the Research Front contains a further five manuscripts.

It is noted that the Special Issue was published after the hosting of the 10th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference in 2016 whereas the current Research Front precedes the hosting of the 11th Conference that was planned for Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2020, but has now been delayed until 2021. As we wait a further year to participate in the 11th Conference we recommend the papers in the Research Front as an example of the wetland research being undertaken in China, being aware that the overall wetland research effort is much larger. We hope that the small sample provided here will raise wider interest in such research and encourage further cooperation and exchange of knowledge about our valuable global wetlands, and, in particular, provide opportunities for developing collaboration amongst wetland experts from around the world.

The manuscripts in the Research Front cover a diverse range of topics: (i) the genetic diversity of the economically important shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis (Song et al. 2020); (ii) the use of molecular biology techniques for investigating the threat and management of the widely distributed invasive plant Spartina alterniflora (Xia et al. 2020); (iii) restoration of the water quality and biodiversity of the Jialu River (Kong et al. 2020); (iv) ecosystem threats and management strategies for wetlands in China (Jeelani et al. 2020); and (v) a bibliometric investigation of ecosystem threats and management strategies for wetlands in China (Zhang et al. 2020). Combined, these manuscripts illustrate a part of the detail and breadth of wetland research being undertaken in China.

We thank the authors for their contributions and recommend these manuscripts to you and encourage all readers to seek opportunities to maintain and extend the international exchange of knowledge about these highly valuable and yet highly threatened ecosystems and their species and ecosystem services.