Analysis of the Impact of Coastal Development and Utilization on the Ecological Environment of the Nearshore Area in the Liaohe River Estuary

Based on an analysis of monitoring data from the Liaohe estuary, the distribution of inorganic nitrogen and active phosphate is related to the type of shoreline. The pollutant concentrations in the port area are 16% (inorganic nitrogen) and 59% (active phosphate) higher than those in the control area. The phytoplankton diversity index in the aquaculture area is 20% lower than in the mixed estuary area, which confirms the gradient effect of human disturbance. The constructed dual-mode distance effect model shows that, for a homogeneous shoreline, the goodness of fit is 40.1% in the non-estuary area, but radial basis function correction needs to be introduced for the estuary area. This study suggests that, in the port area, it is necessary to implement a combined policy consisting of ‘total nitrogen and phosphorus control + ecological compensation’, and artificial reefs should be built in the aquaculture area to maintain the number of benthic species.