The critical role of adaptive management in wetland restoration: Evidence from long-term monitoring in Northeast China

• Long-term monitoring reveals that wetland restoration outcomes often deviate from initial expectations. • Adaptive management was implemented to support the recovery of wetland vegetation communities. • We developed an adaptive management strategy emphasizing flexible objectives and long-term monitoring. • Adaptive management is critical to sustaining the outcomes of wetland restoration. Adaptive management (AM) transforms restoration efforts from short-term interventions into long-term, responsive processes and is widely recognized as critical in practice. However, when short-term restoration projects lack post-restoration monitoring and management, it remains unclear whether outcomes align with initial expectations. This study presents insights gained from 15 years of monitoring a small restored wetland in Heilongjiang Province, China, and describes how these findings informed management decisions. The project was originally designed as a short-term initiative lasting three years, aiming to restore a desirable wetland landscape using vegetation transplantation and hydrological connectivity techniques. However, no AM strategies were implemented following the project’s completion. We monitored landscape changes and vegetation composition ten and fifteen years after restoration. To assess the role of AM in wetland restoration, we established a control experiment to compare restoration outcomes with and without AM intervention. The results indicate that, in the absence of AM, restoration outcomes gradually deviated from initial goals: the landscape became increasingly fragmented, transplanted vegetation was adversely affected by flooding and invasive species, and the wetland transitioned from a single-species to a mixed-species community. After introducing AM measures, these challenges were mitigated and vegetation recovery significantly improved. Drawing on these insights, we developed an AM framework for wetland restoration, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between project implementers and managers to promote AM and ensure long-term restoration success. This case study provides empirical evidence and practical guidance for incorporating AM into wetland restoration efforts.