Development of a wetland management plan for Taiqu Saltpan, Taiwan, by stakeholder engagement and water gate operation

We examined different water management strategies for Taiqu Saltpan, which is part of the Qigu Saltpan Wetland complex in Tainan, Taiwan. The Taiqu saltpans are surrounded by artificial dikes, lack a water management plan, have insufficient water input during the dry season, and have little to no natural hydrologic connectivity to other wetlands in the Qigu Saltpan Wetland complex. Water is an important requirement for habitat and life. The need for a water management plan is crucial to enhance the existing ecosystem services. Besides the need to manage water, a robust stakeholder engagement plan was needed to better understand past practices and events and to develop a future saltpan management plan. Our aim was to bridge local stakeholder knowledge and scientific evidence into management strategies that could be used to improve waterflow between wetlands in the Qigu Saltpan Wetland complex with some soft modification of the existing infrastructure such as removing culverts, dikes, and dredging, and adapting the existing rules for gate operation without increasing the risk of flooding to the surround communities. Data were generated by merging field surveys (water gauge, velocity meter, and bird surveys) and aerial images to identify the saltpan hydrological dynamics before and after water gate operations in March and April 2020, respectively. Physical-inundation drainage modelling was used to calibrate, verify, and simulate four different management scenarios. Most of the water birds that use the Qigu Saltpan Wetland complex are from the Charadriidae and Scolopacidae families. Scenarios II and IV, which produced water depths that were suitable for members of the Charadriidae and Scolopacidae, are recommended. Implementation of water gate operations and stakeholder engagement would help in making decisions regarding future saltpan use in the face of uncertain challenges such as climate change.