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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Balancing urbanisation and habitat conservation on Lingkun Island, China

Huiyuan Chen A , Shaoyi Wang B , Jun Xing A , Huabin Shentu B , Yang Ping A , Haitian Wu B , Furong Wu A , Gang Cheng C , Senjun Huang B and Hailan Yu https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4871-5509 B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A PowerChina Eco-environmental Group Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China.

B Department of Ecology and Environment, PowerChina Huadong Engineering Corporation, Ltd, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311122, PR China.

C PowerChina Lingkun Smart City Eco-Construction and Development (Wenzhou) Co., Ltd, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, PR China.

* Correspondence to: yu_hl@hdec.com

Handling Editor: Wan Zhanhong

Marine and Freshwater Research 76, MF25042 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF25042
Submitted: 25 March 2025  Accepted: 5 September 2025  Published: 17 October 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Small estuarine islands are biodiversity hotspots, yet are being rapidly transformed by infrastructure-led urbanisation.

Aims

Aim was to quantify land-cover change and ecological consequences on Lingkun Island, China (2009–2023).

Methods

Landsat time-series were segmented into 120,452 objects and classified into six land-use classes; 10 indicators of ecosystem function, disturbance and resilience were scored (0–5) and combined into composite indices of ecosystem quality and sensitivity.

Key results

Urban construction land expanded by 57.7%, whereas natural and semi-natural habitats shrank by 18.5%. Ecosystem quality index (IEQ) fell 28.4% (0.62–0.45) and ecosystem sensitivity Index (IES) rose 34.1% (0.41–0.55). Traditional orchards contracted 68.9% and aquaculture ponds 27.6%, leaving only 184 ha of contiguous wetland for East Asian–Australasian Flyway shorebirds and Japanese eel. The IEQ–IES framework, anchored in object-oriented segmentation, shows resilience deficits that pixel-based island studies overlook.

Conclusions

Railway-driven urbanisation has triggered a rapid, irreversible shift from heterogeneous rural mosaics to simplified urban systems, eroding ecological integrity and adaptive capacity.

Implications

Immediate wetland protection, a minimum 30% urban green-space mandate and community-based ecological monitoring are urged. Because the indicator framework relies on imagery and expert scoring, it is transferable to other ‘island–port–rail’ developments that must reconcile connectivity with conservation.

Keywords: ecosystem quality, ecosystem sensitivity, estuarine island, habitat fragmentation, land-use change, Lingkun Island, remote sensing, urbanisation.

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