The study looked at how changes in land use affected the amount of carbon stored in the soil in Yancheng coastal wetlands from 1987 to 2007. They found that the amount of organic carbon in the soil increased slightly in 1992 compared to 1987, decreased by 33.3% from 1992 to 2002, and then increased by 30.5% from 2002 to 2007. Loss of natural wetlands led to a decrease in carbon storage, while converting wetlands to farmland or planting certain types of vegetation helped to store more carbon. It's important to balance economic interests with preserving soil carbon by controlling how much wetland is converted to other uses.