Wildlife of
Anhui Sheng

Primary Threats

• Nutrient and chemical pollution from intensive agriculture (fertilizers, pesticides) and dense industry/urban wastewater drives eutrophication and harmful algal blooms in major waterbodies such as Chaohu, and degrades aquatic habitat quality in the Huai River system and lower Yangtze tributaries.
• Historic wetland reclamation and ongoing shoreline hardening reduce floodplain wetlands and shallow-lake habitats used by wintering cranes and storks (e.g., Shengjin Lake), while conversion of marginal lands and riparian zones diminishes connectivity between river, lake, and marsh habitats.
• River engineering (embankments, channelization, sluices) and altered hydrology from upstream regulation change seasonal flooding regimes that sustain Yangtze floodplain wetlands in Anhui, affecting fish spawning grounds and the drawdown patterns needed for waterbird foraging.
• Although the Yangtze fishing ban is in force, legacy overfishing and illegal capture in sections of the Yangtze and connected lakes/reservoirs reduced fish biomass and size structure, impacting top predators and threatened aquatic species (including finless porpoises via prey depletion).
• Busy Yangtze shipping lanes, port expansion, bridges, and shoreline development increase noise, collision risk, and habitat disturbance for aquatic fauna; road networks and expanding peri-urban construction fragment foothill habitats in southern Anhui.
• Sand mining and aggregate extraction in the Yangtze and connected waterways can deepen channels, destabilize banks, and simplify benthic habitats, reducing nursery areas for fish and invertebrates and indirectly affecting wetland food webs.
• High-demand rice, rapeseed, and aquaculture landscapes around lakes and river plains increase drainage/irrigation infrastructure, squeeze natural marsh edges, and intensify runoff-pressuring remaining wetland mosaics critical to migratory birds.
• Rapid growth around Hefei and other Yangtze corridor cities expands impervious surfaces and wastewater loads, increases recreational pressure on nearby wetlands/lakes, and drives conversion of lowland habitat remnants into residential and industrial land.
• Seasonal tourism and shoreline recreation (birdwatching without buffers, boating, lakeside construction activity) can displace cranes, storks, and other waterbirds from key roosting and feeding sites, especially during wintering periods.
• Demand for turtles, songbirds, and other wildlife (for pets, food, or traditional uses) contributes to local poaching/collection pressure and facilitates illegal transport through major transport corridors crossing Anhui.
• Despite restrictions, opportunistic hunting/poaching in rural wetland margins and uplands can affect pheasants, waterfowl, and small mammals; the impact is amplified where enforcement capacity is uneven across scattered habitats.
• Greater frequency of extreme floods and droughts in the lower Yangtze-Huai region threatens wetland hydrological stability, can shift timing/availability of mudflats and shallow foraging zones for migratory birds, and increases stress on polluted lakes during heatwaves.
• Coal and metal mining footprints (and associated tailings, water withdrawals, and transport) in parts of northern/central Anhui contribute to habitat fragmentation and can elevate sediment/contaminant risks to tributaries feeding the Huai River and lower Yangtze systems.
• High-density poultry and extensive waterbird congregations at wintering wetlands create conditions where avian diseases can spread; disease risk is compounded where water quality is poor and birds are crowded into reduced habitat patches.