The Dajiuhu wetland, a famous sub-alpine wetland located in the the Shennongjia Mountains, north-subtropical
region of Central China, has suffered from adverse impacts of unsustainable human practices over the past
60 years. The Dajiuhu wetland reflects the development process that has been accompanied by human activities.
Based on field survey data, high resolution remote sensing image and historical records, the present paper provided
a review on exploitation and restoration of the wetland. The results showed that the Dajiuhu wetland degraded quickly
from 1950 to 2005. During that time, bog shrinkage, lake disappearance, biodiversity decline, sphagnum reduction,
and vegetation succession from wetland communities to terrestrial communities in the Dajiuhu wetland, which
were the main manifestations of the wetland degradation. Human activities, such as agricultural reclamation and construction
of drainage works, have been the main factors resulting in ecological degradation of the wetland since
1986. Poverty and the short-term economic benefits had been the driving forces for wetland drainage and reclamation
over the past years
