Relying on national “Double first-class” disciplines such as marine science and ecology, and state key disciplines such as marine science and environmental science, the National Observation and Research Station for the Taiwan Strait Marine Ecosystem (T-SMART) was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China in October 2021. Integrating nearly 30 years of observations and research on upwelling ecosystems and coastal wetland ecosystems such as mangroves in the Taiwan Strait, T-SMART is committed to the long-term monitoring of and experimental research on marine ecosystem structure and function, providing scientific and technological support for healthy ecosystems and sustainable economic development.
Location
Dongshan county and Yunxiao County, Fujian Province, about 150 km away from the Xiamen University.
Taiwan Strait, consisting of various coastal ecosystems, is the ideal site for research on the response of marine ecosystems under the impact of global change.
It is the largest strait in marginal seas of China
There are multiple types of upwellings
It is affected by Kuroshio intrusion
It is biota boundary between the East China Sea and the South China Sea
There are continuous geographical units including coastal wetland, bay, and strait
There are vulnerable marine ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs
Scientific Foucs
We mainly aims at observing the connectivity of ecosystems in the Taiwan Strait, and clarifying the long-term changes of the marine ecosystem and its driving mechanism. Integratedly monitoring the coastal upwelling, the structure and function of subtropical bay and coastal wetland ecosystems in the Taiwan Strait to analyze the process and response of the ecosystem under the impact of global change and human activities, which supports marine health protection and sustainable economic development in science and technology.
Observation area
We have two comprehensive stations, Dongshan Swire Marine Station (D-SMART) and Zhangjiang Estuary Mangrove Wetland Ecosystem Station (M-ECORS), to support our long-term observation in the Taiwan Strait (Upwellings), Dongshan Bay, and Zhangjiang Estuary (Wetland).
观测区域（两场四区）图
★D-SMART
Dongshan Swire Marine Station (D-SMART) locates in Donggu Village, Xipu Town, Dongshan Island, encompassing approximately 14.43 acres with a construction area of 4432 m2 . The total investment is more than 20 million CNY, and the building was put into use in June 2017.
★M-ECORS
Zhangjiang Estuary Mangrove Wetland Ecosystem Station (M- ECORS) is located in Yunxiao County, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province, covering 2.96 acres with a construction area of 10039 m2 . It invested over 53 million CNY and was opened in July 2021.
