Abstract: The South China Sea area of China is one of the richest areas in biodiversity, and also, a densely populated and developed area. It includes Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, Macau, Guangxi Zhuang Nationality Autonomous Region and Hainan Province, with a total area being approximately 1.54×10⁴ km², and its coastal wetlands lying in the Sea-land ecotone is a vulnerable and sensitive ecological area. The coastal region of South China has been impaired and degraded seriously, due to the mighty pressure of population growth and economic development. Based on the analyses of the characteristics and present status of wetland recourses and the main causes of wetland degradation in this area, some countermeasures on the wetland conservation and management were suggested in this paper, aimed to protect the biodiversity of the coastal wetlands along the South China Sea of China, and to make sustained use of their eco-service functions.

Key words: Woody plant, δ¹³C values, Interspecific variation, Connection analysis