*Oftheninemajorflywaysaroundtheworld,twopassthroughtheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserve.*Thereservehaslaunchednewprojectsandappliednewtechnologiesinrecentyearstorestorethewetlands,recovervegetationandenhancethemonitoringofbirds.*Theuseoftechnologyhelpsreducetheimpactofhumanactivitiesonthenaturalenvironmentandcreatemorepossibilitiesforbiodiversityconservation.JINAN,Nov.21(Xinhua)--EarlywinterisabusyseasonfortheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserve,locatedintheestuaryoftheYellowRiverinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince.WildbirdsareseenattheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserveinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince,Oct.12,2023.(Xinhua/XuSuhui)Oftheninemajorflywaysaroundtheworld,theEastAsian-AustralasianflywayandtheWestPacificflywaypassthroughthereserve.Millionsofbirdsmakestopovershereannually,makingit"aninternationalairport"formigratorybirdsandakeyareafortheirprotection.Thereserve,animportantwinteringandstopoversiteformigratorybirds,haslaunchednewprojectsandappliednewtechnologiesinrecentyearstorestorethewetlands,recovervegetationandenhancethemonitoringofbirds.PROTECTINGWETLANDThereservestretchesforabout153,000hectares,withwetlandsmakingupmorethan70percent.Areliablewatersupplyiskeytotheprotectionofwetlandsandthewholeecosystem.ThisaerialphototakenonOct.12,2023showsaviewoftheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserveinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince.(Xinhua/XuSuhui)Overthepastfewyears,thereservehaslaunchednewwaterreplenishmentchannels,divertingmorewaterfromtheYellowRiverintothereservetorestorethewetland.Thewaterdiversioncapacityhasbeenraisedfromlessthan40cubicmeterspersecondto131cubicmeterspersecond,saidLiuJing,deputydirectorofthereserve'smanagementcommittee.Ithasdiverted175millioncubicmetersofwaterintothereserveineachofthepasttwoyears.Inthepast,thewaterreplenishmentcameonceayear,beforethefloodseason,butnowitcomestwoorthreetimesayear,accordingtodemand."Wefoundthatinotherseasons,suchasspring,whenanimalsandplantsgrowvigorously,alargeamountofwaterisalsorequired,"Liusaid.WinteringmigratorybirdsareseenattheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserveinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince,Nov.12,2023.(Xinhua/XuSuhui)"Wateristhefoundationofwetlandecosystems.Onlywithwatercanplantsthriveandthewetlandvegetationberestored,providingfoodandshelterforbirds."RESTORINGVEGETATIONAstheseatiderecedes,alargeswatheofseagrassbedisexposedintheestuaryoftheYellowRiver.ZhouYi,aresearcherattheInstituteofOceanology,ChineseAcademyofSciences,hasengagedinseagrassbedresearchformorethan20yearsandvisitstheplaceeveryothermonth.TheestuarywasoncehometothelargesteelgrassbedinChina,buttyphoonLekimadestroyedover660hectaresofgrassbedin2019,leavingnothingbutanareaofmudflatthen,Zhousaid."Theseagrassbedsupportsbenthicorganismssuchassmallfishandcrabs,nutritiousfoodforthesebirds,"saidZhouLicheng,theresearchchiefwiththereserve'smanagementcommittee.ThisphototakenonNov.15,2023showsred-crownedcranesforagingattheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserveinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince.(PhotobyRenXiaojie/Xinhua)IncollaborationwiththeInstituteofOceanologyandtheOceanUniversityofChina,thereservehasrestorednearly100hectaresoftheseagrassbedsince2022,saidZhouwiththereserve.Theinvasionofsaltmarshcordgrassposesagreatrisktoseagrassbeds.Thereserveconductsanalysisusinggeographicinformationsystemsandremotesensingtechnology,andhaseliminated8,724hectaresofsaltmarshcordgrassthroughvariousmeans,accordingtotheresearchchief.Thereserve'snaturalvegetationcoverageratenowstandsat55.1percent,makingitthelargestnewwetlandnaturalvegetationareaalongthecoastofChina.WinteringmigratorybirdsareseenattheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserveinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince,Nov.12,2023.(Xinhua/XuSuhui)One-thirdoftheseagrassbedsgloballyhavedisappearedduetoclimatechangeandhumanactivities.However,stepbystep,Chinahasturnedtheideaofplantinggrassontheseabedintoareality.MONITORINGNETWORKAttheYellowRiverDeltaEnvironmentalMonitoringCenter,ZhaoYajie,deputydirectorofthecenter,isobservingtheactivitiesofanorientalwhitestorkonalargescreen.Thebirdisstandinginanartificialnestwithadiameterofabout2meters,flippingbranchestotidyupitsdwelling.Thisyear,Zhaoandhercolleagueshavedetected198nestswithnewbornbabies.TheorientalstorkislistedasanendangeredspeciesbytheInternationalUnionforConservationofNature."Weusedtocountbirdswithourowneyes,"saidZhao.Whenshestartedworkingatthecenter,shewouldtrudgethroughthemudflatwearingchest-highrubberwaders,carryingbinoculars,tripodss,camerasandotherequipmentweighingnearly10kg.Shewouldalsoliveinremotemanagementstationsforseveralmonthsatatime.Peoplewatchred-crownedcranesattheYellowRiverDeltaNationalNatureReserveinDongying,eastChina'sShandongProvince,Oct.12,2023.(Xinhua/XuSuhui)ShanKai,aseniorengineeratthereserve,said,"Wefirstspottedapairoforientalwhitestorksbreedingherein2003.However,wehadnoideahowvigilanttheywereandourclose-distanceobservationdisturbedthem."Inresponsetothisissue,thereservehasbuiltanair-ground-oceanintegratedmonitoringnetworkwith66surveillancecamerasforbirds,75forwetlandsandover40forhumanactivities.Thenetworkprovides24-hourreal-timemonitoringinkeyareas,usingtechnologiessuchas5G,intelligentperceptionandedgeAI.Thenetworkcancaptureandrecognizebirdsautomatically,displayingtheirspeciesandhealthstatusonthescreenimmediately.Therecognitionaccuracyofsomekeyspeciesandlargebirdsisover90percent.Thedatawillbeincludedinthereal-timestatisticsofbirdnumbersandbirdactivitypatternsamplesforthequarter."Theuseoftechnologyhelpsreducetheimpactofhumanactivitiesonthenaturalenvironmentandcreatemorepossibilitiesforbiodiversityconservation,"saidShan."Observingwithoutdisturbingandsafeguardingwithoutover-intervention--weseethisasthegreatestrespecthumanscanshowtotheelvesofnature."Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.