Figure 2. Study site. (a) Overview of the study area. (b) The Yangkou tidal flat, Rudong County, Jiangsu Province, China (Map data: Landsat8, OLI, April 9, 2021); areas affected by land reclamation activities are highlighted with colored lines. (c, d) Overview of the meandering tidal channel investigated in this study, with a close-up view of the analyzed meander bend (Map data: Google, TerraMetrics). (e) A photo showing vegetation features in the landward portion of the channel, characterized by the widespread presence of Spartina alterniflora Loisel . (f) A photo of the studied bend at low tide.