Wetland ecosystem status and restoration using the Ecopath with Ecosim (EWE) model

With increasing awareness of the importance of wetlands, the number of new or restored wetlands in China is steadily growing; however, not all of them fulfill their expected ecological function. Maintaining wetlands in their optimal state is an urgent problem that requires research into the ecosystem evaluation, regulation, and biomass management of wetlands. The Ecopath with Ecosim (EWE) model, also known as the ecological channel model, is a balance model that can directly construct the ecological system structure and describe its energy flow and mass transfer through the principle of nutrition dynamics. Here, the EWE model is applied to determine the ecosystem status of a newly restored wetland, Zhushanhu wetland, in the Lake Tai buffer zone of Zhushan Bay, and evaluate the current ecological regulations and biomass control measures. Our results provide theoretical and scientific support for the management and maintenance of wetland ecological restorations.