Abstract: Evaluating of mangrove restoration is essential for assessing the effectiveness of ecological restoration and ensuring the stability of ecological functions of mangroves. To investigate the impact of site conditions on mangrove restoration effectiveness, four representative regions of mangrove restoration in Guangdong Province including Hongliubei, Buchang located in Leizhou City, Wangjingzhou, Dabutun situated in Huizhou City were selected in this study. Growth parameters (stem height, basal diameter) of newly established mangroves, as well as sediment physicochemical properties (e.g., grain size, sediment organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus) were quantitatively determined for evaluating the restoration effectiveness of the study areas. Compared to initial planting stage, mangroves associated with Wangjingzhou showed the highest total growth rate (124.76%), primarily focusing on the stem height growing. The highest preservation rates of mangroves was also observed Wangjingzhou (72.29%), followed by Dabutun (60.00%), Hongliubei (42.25%) and Buchang (39.32%). Sediment clay content and organic carbon concentration were higher in Wangjingzhou and Dabutun in comparison with Hongliubei and Buchang. The result of evaluation based on entropy weight model presented that the restoration effectiveness in Wangjingzhou was rated as “excellent” (with final score of 3.26), Dabutun as “good” (scoring 2.51), and both Buchang and Hongliubei as “medium” (scoring 1.93 and 1.76, respectively). Elevation of intertidal flat, sediment clay content and organic carbon concentration may play a crucial role in demonstrating the variation in mangrove restoration effectiveness. The present investigation not only provided a case study on mangrove restoration evaluation, but also offered scientific insights for informing the adaptive formulation of mangrove restoration engineering.

Key words: Mangrove, ecological restoration, entropy weight model, effectiveness evaluation