An integrated assessment of coastal habitat quality in Nantong, Jiangsu, China

Assessment of coastal habitat quality assessment is of great significance for sustainable coastal development. However, few attempts have been made to conduct an integrated assessment of coastal habitat quality. Consequently, we proposed a novel framework, in which cross-system threats from terrestrial and marine human activities are taken into account. The integrated assessment of the coastal habitat quality was realized by using the intertidal zone as a bridge after evaluating the two subsystems of the terrestrial and marine independently. Nantong, a typical development coast in Southern Yellow Sea, was used as a case study. The results showed that in 2020, the trend of the coastal habitat quality in Nantong steadily improved from the terrestrial to the marine. The distribution of the coastal habitat quality in Nantong was significantly polarized. The direction of the habitat quality distribution in Nantong’s coastal zone was generally northwest-southeast. Human activities and benthic biodiversity are the main factors affecting habitat quality in Nantong’s coastal zone. This study is a useful attempt of cross-system habitat quality assessment, which can support integrated land-sea conservation planning and integrated coastal management.