Spatiotemporal dynamics of wetlands and their future multi-scenario simulation in the Yellow River Delta, China

Wetlands, known as the "kidney of the earth", are an important component of global ecosystems. However, they have been changed under multiple stresses in recent decades, which is especially true in the Yellow River Delta. This study examined the spatiotemporal change characteristics of wetlands in the Yellow River Delta from 1980 to 2020 and predicted detailed wetland changes from 2020 to 2030 with the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model under four scenarios, namely, the natural development scenario (NDS), the farmland protection scenario (FPS), the wetland protection scenario (WPS) and the harmonious development scenario (HDS). The results showed that wetlands increased 709.29 km