Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China
Urbanisation is known to result in ‘urban stream syndrome’, which poses a huge threat to the river health. Birds, which are an important part of the river ecosystem, are sensitive to environmental changes in the basin. The ratio of the impervious surface area is a macroscopic indicator of urbanisati...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/4/473 |
| _version_ | 1797483450285948928 |
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| author | Qingru Xu Lizhi Zhou Shanshan Xia Jian Zhou |
| author_facet | Qingru Xu Lizhi Zhou Shanshan Xia Jian Zhou |
| author_sort | Qingru Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Urbanisation is known to result in ‘urban stream syndrome’, which poses a huge threat to the river health. Birds, which are an important part of the river ecosystem, are sensitive to environmental changes in the basin. The ratio of the impervious surface area is a macroscopic indicator of urbanisation intensity in river basins. In this study, we combined the results of a year-round field survey of seven river wetlands around Chaohu Lake (China) with satellite remote sensing image data from the same period. The species richness at sections of the lake entrance was higher than in the middle sections of the river, and the Shannon–Wiener index during autumn was higher than that during winter. The waterbird diversity index declined exponentially with increases in the intensity of urbanisation. The changes in the land use patterns around river wetlands associated with urbanisation resulted in the loss of food resources and habitats. Therefore, the intensity of urbanisation was an important driving factor that leads to changes in the bird community structure of river wetlands, so it had a significant impact on the diversity of river wetland birds in all four seasons combined with a variety of influencing factors. Our research could be a guide for urban landscape planning and bird diversity protection. For example, the results suggested that it is necessary to identify river wetlands as an important part of the urban ecosystem, reduced building area, increased vegetation coverage, and retained slope protection and river beach land. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:48:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b2485f0044e43e683600f5036208776 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:48:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b2485f0044e43e683600f50362087762023-11-23T18:25:39ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-02-0112447310.3390/ani12040473Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, ChinaQingru Xu0Lizhi Zhou1Shanshan Xia2Jian Zhou3School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, ChinaSchool of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, ChinaSchool of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, ChinaSchool of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, ChinaUrbanisation is known to result in ‘urban stream syndrome’, which poses a huge threat to the river health. Birds, which are an important part of the river ecosystem, are sensitive to environmental changes in the basin. The ratio of the impervious surface area is a macroscopic indicator of urbanisation intensity in river basins. In this study, we combined the results of a year-round field survey of seven river wetlands around Chaohu Lake (China) with satellite remote sensing image data from the same period. The species richness at sections of the lake entrance was higher than in the middle sections of the river, and the Shannon–Wiener index during autumn was higher than that during winter. The waterbird diversity index declined exponentially with increases in the intensity of urbanisation. The changes in the land use patterns around river wetlands associated with urbanisation resulted in the loss of food resources and habitats. Therefore, the intensity of urbanisation was an important driving factor that leads to changes in the bird community structure of river wetlands, so it had a significant impact on the diversity of river wetland birds in all four seasons combined with a variety of influencing factors. Our research could be a guide for urban landscape planning and bird diversity protection. For example, the results suggested that it is necessary to identify river wetlands as an important part of the urban ecosystem, reduced building area, increased vegetation coverage, and retained slope protection and river beach land.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/4/473wetland protectionbird communityredundancy analysishabitat loss |
| spellingShingle | Qingru Xu Lizhi Zhou Shanshan Xia Jian Zhou Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China Animals wetland protection bird community redundancy analysis habitat loss |
| title | Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China |
| title_full | Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China |
| title_short | Impact of Urbanisation Intensity on Bird Diversity in River Wetlands around Chaohu Lake, China |
| title_sort | impact of urbanisation intensity on bird diversity in river wetlands around chaohu lake china |
| topic | wetland protection bird community redundancy analysis habitat loss |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/4/473 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT qingruxu impactofurbanisationintensityonbirddiversityinriverwetlandsaroundchaohulakechina AT lizhizhou impactofurbanisationintensityonbirddiversityinriverwetlandsaroundchaohulakechina AT shanshanxia impactofurbanisationintensityonbirddiversityinriverwetlandsaroundchaohulakechina AT jianzhou impactofurbanisationintensityonbirddiversityinriverwetlandsaroundchaohulakechina |