Suncheon Bay wetlands
Suncheon Bay wetlands, located in the southwestern Korean province of Jeollanam-do, are a vital coastal ecosystem found between the Yeosu and Goheung peninsulas. This temperate to warm wetland area features a diverse landscape, including tidelands, salt marshes, and reed fields, and serves as a crucial habitat for migratory birds. The bay is known for its substantial tidal flats, covering approximately 5,488 acres, and attracts millions of eco-tourists annually, with an expected influx of around 10 million visitors in 2019, prior to travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
The wetlands boast significant biodiversity, hosting at least 116 plant species and providing wintering grounds for numerous migratory birds such as the hooded crane and the Chinese egret, both of which are of conservation concern. In addition to avian life, the ecosystem supports a variety of mammals and marine species, playing an essential role in spawning and nursery habitats. Despite the ecological importance and conservation efforts surrounding Suncheon Bay, the wetlands face challenges from industrial development and habitat degradation.
The area is also recognized for its environmental benefits, including carbon sequestration, water filtration, and the maintenance of local biodiversity. This combination of ecological significance and tourism potential makes Suncheon Bay a noteworthy subject for those interested in wetlands, biodiversity, and conservation efforts in South Korea.
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Subject Terms
Suncheon Bay wetlands
Category: Marine and Oceanic Biomes.
Geographic Location: South Korea.
Summary: This protected natural area in South Korea serves as a habitat for migratory birds and marine life. An ecological treasure, Suncheon Bay is one of the largest tidal flats in the world.
Suncheon Bay is a coastal wetland between the Yeosu and Goheung peninsulas in the southwestern Korean province of Jeollanam-do, near the city of Suncheon. The ocean here, which South Korea officially calls South Sea, is part of the northernmost extent of the East China Sea. The climate of the Suncheon Bay Wetlands biome is temperate to warm, rarely below 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) in the winter and frequently sweltering in the summer, with humidity of 65–80 percent and 60 inches (1,524 millimeters) of rainfall every year. The bay, which primarily consists of tidelands, sand bars, salt marsh, the central stream of the Dongcheon River, and fields of reeds—some in distinctive circular forms—is a lively habitat for migratory birds.
The waters are largely unspoiled and serve as a spawning ground for many fish and shellfish species, all within the protected areas of Suncheon Ecological Park. There is some commercial fishing, particularly of shad, mullet, and octopus.
The Suncheon Bay wetlands comprises about 29 square miles (75 square kilometers), including one of the largest tidal flats in the world at about 5,488 acres (2,221 hectares), or about one-third of the total area. It is a major eco-tourist draw, attracting millions of visitors each year. The South Korean government expected about 10 million tourists to visit the wetlands in 2019, the year before travel restrictions were put in place due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The ecological park here has exhibits that introduce visitors to various habitats and guide them through the wetlands on a set of raised pathways designed—as the park buildings were—to minimize disturbance to the ecosystem.
Biodiversity
The wetlands have at least 116 species of plants in 36 families. Common reed (Phragmites australis), Korean starwort (Aster koraiensis), and starwort (A. tripolium) are hallmark types. Around the periphery of the reed beds are such salt-tolerant flora as cockspur (Echinochloa crus-galli)and flax-leaved fleabane (Erigeron bonariensis). Along the banks of the brackish and freshwater segments of the river are seablite (Suaeda glauca), zoysia grass (Zoysia sinica), Korean clover (Kummerowia stipulacea), and snoutbean (Rhynchosia volubilis).
The extensive reed beds are wintering sites for numerous migratory birds. Notable avians include the hooded crane (Grus monacha), spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), Baikal teal (Anas formosa), whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus), and Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes). The hooded crane breeds primarily in Siberia and Mongolia, and spends its winters in South Korea and adjacent areas of China. The current population is believed to be about 9,500 worldwide.
Interestingly, Korea lacks endemic (found nowhere else) bird species, and has poor diversity in dry-land avian species. However, sites like Suncheon Bay attract a plethora of migratory waterbirds. The Chinese egret, black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor), and Saunders’s gull (Larus saundersi) are all threatened species that thrive here.
There are as many as 1,000 Saunders’s gulls in the wetlands, as well as large numbers of spotted greenshanks, grey-tailed tattlers (Tringa brevipes), great scaups (Aythya marila mariloides), and eastern taiga bean geese (Anser fabalis middendoffi). One of the most populous bird species here is the common shelduck, with more than 15,000 individuals in the Suncheon Bay wetlands.
Common mammals in the area include otter (Lutra lutra), raccoon (Nyctereutes procyonoides), and weasel (Mustela sibirica coreana). The wetlands also provide spawning ground for mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and amphibians.
The Environment
The wetlands and the migratory birds that depend on them face significant threats in the future, as an increasingly industrial Korea, while committed to green principles in other spheres, has consistently opted to put wetlands at risk. Some of the country’s wetlands conservation plans have focused on other aspects, neglecting the use of wetlands by migratory birds and failing to preserve estuarine habitats that provide critical shelter, feeding, and rearing areas for waterbirds.
However, the green footprint of Suncheon Bay, widely viewed as a local treasure, has been successfully set aside in a plan designed to preserve the wetlands and help blunt the effects of climate change. Wetlands, such as Suncheon Bay, are thought to collectively absorb about 40 percent of carbon emissions worldwide, and thus are important for slowing the pace of rising global temperatures.
Additionally, on a local ecological service level, the salty swamp here helps in water filtration and purification. Removal and sequestration of heavy metals and certain toxic organics from the water has been documented, for instance. The stems and leaves of the Bay’s phragmites reed community tend to block seaweed growth that might otherwise hinder the tidal cycles here; the reeds also help transfer oxygen into the water, keeping the balance ideal for a wide range of species.
Bibliography
Jun, Chang Pyo, Sangheon Yi, and Seong Joo Lee. “Palynological Implication of Holocene Vegetation and Environment in Pyeongtaek Wetland.” Quaternary International 227, no. 1 (2010).
Kamala-Kannan, Seralathan and Kui Jae Lee. “Metal Tolerance and Antibiotic Resistance of Bacillus Species Isolated from Suncheon Bay Sediments.” Biotechnology 7, no. 1 (2008).
Moores, N., S. K. Kim, S.-B. Park, and S. Tobai. Yellow Sea Ecoregion: Reconaissance Report on Identification of Important Wetland and Marine Areas for Biodiversity Conservation. Tokyo: World Wildlife Fund-Japan and Wetlands International China Programme, 2001.
Nam, Jungho, Jongseong Ryu, David Fluharty, Chul-hwan Koh, Karen Dyson, and Won Keon Chang. “Designation Processes for Marine Protected Areas in the Coastal Wetlands of South Korea.” Ocean and Coastal Management 53, no. 11 (2010).
“Suncheon, Korea’s Ecological Capital, Aims to Draw 10 Million Tourists This Year.” PR Newswire Asia, 11 July 2019, en.prnasia.com/releases/apac/suncheon-korea-s-ecological-capital-aims-to-draw-10-million-tourists-this-year-251697.shtml. Accessed 31 Aug. 2022.