An invasive species erodes the performance of coastal wetland protected areas

The world has increasingly relied upon protected areas (PAs) to rescue
highly valued ecosystems from human activities, but whether PAs will fare
well with bioinvasions remains unknown. By analyzing three decades of
seven largest coastal PAs in China, including multiple World Natural
Heritage and/or Wetlands of International Importance sites, we show that
although PAs are achieving success in rescuing iconic wetlands and
critical shorebird habitats from once widespread reclamation, this success
is counteracted by escalating plant invasions. Plant invasions were not
only more extensive in PAs than non-PA controls, but also undermined PA
performance by, without human intervention, irreversibly replacing
expansive native wetlands (primarily mudflats), and precluding
successional formation of new native marshes. Exotic species are invading
PAs globally. This rare study across large spatiotemporal scales
highlights that the consequences of bioinvasions for humanity’s major
conservation tool may be more profound, far-reaching and critical for
management than currently recognized.

全球正日益依赖保护区（protected areas, PAs）来拯救高价值生态系统免受人类活动的影响，但保护区能否应对生物入侵仍不明朗。通过分析中国七大沿海保护区（包括多个世界自然遗产和/或国际重要湿地站点）三十年来的数据，我们发现，尽管保护区在拯救标志性湿地和关键滨鸟栖息地免受曾经广泛存在的围垦活动影响方面取得了成功，但这种成功正被日益加剧的植物入侵所抵消。植物入侵不仅在保护区内比非保护区对照区域更为广泛，而且在没有人为干预的情况下，通过不可逆转地取代广阔的原生湿地（主要是泥滩）并阻碍新生原生沼泽的演替形成，损害了保护区的效能。外来物种正在全球范围内入侵保护区。这项跨越宏大时空尺度的罕见研究表明，生物入侵对人类主要保护工具（指保护区）的影响可能比当前认知更为深远、广泛且对管理至关重要。