Ganghwa Maehwamarum Habitat is located at Choji-ri, Gilsang-myun, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon Metropolitan
city, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. Maehwamarum (Ranunculus kazusensis Makino) is a plant that grows in a swamp or a lake and it is about 50 cm tall. Until the 1960s, Maehwamarum was very abundant and easily seen. However, due to pollution and demolition of ponds and wetlands, it is now found only in 30 places in Korea. And one of these is Ganghwa

Ganghwa

Ganghwa may refer to:* Ganghwa County, administrative region of South Korea* Ganghwa Island, island in South Korea...

 Maehwamarum Habitat.

Significance

It is very significant that Ganghwa Maehwamarum Habitat is registered at Ramsar Wetland. Ganghwa Maehwamarum Habitat is a rice paddy which is an artificial, meaning man-made, wetlands. But despite the fact that it is man-made, it became the first rice paddy to be formally registered as a Ramsar Wetland. This became possible in the 10th Ramsar Conference which recognized the importance and the need of rice paddies in Asia. Ganghwa Maehwamarum Habitat has led other rice paddies being designated as Ramsar Wetlands.

Public Conservation movement

Growth of Maehwamarum, once thought extinct, was discovered on Ganghwa Island lands which were slated for redevelopment. Knowing the importance of preserving rare plants, the National Trust intervened and acquired the land. The National Trust is run by public contributions and aims to protect ecologically important areas by buying the land and protecting it from other commercial acts. Although the Maehwamarum Habitat is small compared to other wetlands, it was designated as Ramsar Wetland for continuous preservation.

Organisms

Plants

• Maehwamarum (Korean water crowfoot; Ranunculus kazusensis)
• river bulrush (Scirpus fluviatilis)

Animals

• black-faced spoonbill
• Chinese egret
  Chinese Egret
  The Chinese Egret or Swinhoe's Egret, Egretta eulophotes, is a full-crested, white egret with yellow bill. It breeds in Russia, North Korea, South Korea and mainland China, and then migrates south through Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia...
  
  
• gold-spotted pond frog (Rana plancyi chosenica)
• Korean brown frog(Rana coreana)
• boreal digging frog
  Boreal digging frog
  The Boreal digging frog, Kaloula borealis, is a species of microhylid, or "narrow-mouthed," frog found in Northeast Asia. Its range covers much of central and northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and Jeju Island...
  
   (Kaloula borealis)
• Korean ratsnake (Elaphe schrenckii)
• Nepa hoffmanni
• many kind of wolf spiders,Dolomedes sulfureus
• horseshoe crab
  Horseshoe crab
  The Atlantic horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is a marine chelicerate arthropod. Despite its name, it is more closely related to spiders, ticks, and scorpions than to crabs. Horseshoe crabs are most commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico and along the northern Atlantic coast of North America...
  
  
• rice paddy snail
• water snail
• crucian carp
  Crucian carp
  The crucian carp is a member of the family Cyprinidae, which includes many other fish, such as the common carp, or the smaller minnows. They inhabit lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers throughout Europe and Asia. The crucian is a medium-sized cyprinid, which rarely exceeds a weight of over 3.3...
  
  
• mudfish
  Mudfish
  Mudfish may refer to any of many different fishes, including:* In New Zealand and Australia:** Neochanna species* In North America:** Amia calva* In South America:** Lepidosiren paradoxa* In Africa:** Labeo capensis...
  
  
• rice eel(Monopterus albus)

introduced

• bull frog
• large mouth bass