Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties

Plant community characteristics and soil properties are critical indicators for evaluating wetland degradation and restoration. In order to investigate how the degradation of inland salt marsh wetlands affects plants and soils as well as the response relationship between plants and soils under diffe...

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Main Authors: Daiji Wan, Peng Yu, Lingyang Kong, Jinsong Zhang, Yanhui Chen, Dandan Zhao, Jiping Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-02-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24000396
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author Daiji Wan
Peng Yu
Lingyang Kong
Jinsong Zhang
Yanhui Chen
Dandan Zhao
Jiping Liu
author_facet Daiji Wan
Peng Yu
Lingyang Kong
Jinsong Zhang
Yanhui Chen
Dandan Zhao
Jiping Liu
author_sort Daiji Wan
collection DOAJ
description Plant community characteristics and soil properties are critical indicators for evaluating wetland degradation and restoration. In order to investigate how the degradation of inland salt marsh wetlands affects plants and soils as well as the response relationship between plants and soils under different degradation degrees, this paper selected inland salt marsh wetlands with different degradation degrees in the wetland area of western Songnen Plain, and analyzed the characteristics of plant communities, soils and their relationships. The results show that: that the important value of Gramineae plants decreased by about 21% with increasing degradation, while the vital value of Cyperaceae and weeds increased by 10% and 9%, respectively. Plant height decreased significantly, and coverage and density showed a decreasing and then increasing trend. Overall, species diversity shows a trend of increasing and then decreasing, indicating that the structure of plant communities tends to be more straightforward and more complex with increasing degradation. Soil electrical conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) content decreased significantly with the degree of degradation from ND (non degradation) to HD (heavy degradation) by 34.08%, 19.56%, and 35.82%, respectively. Soil C:N increased from 13.13 to 17.97. Soil N:P and C:P decreased from 5.56 to 3.28 and from 71.59 to 54.02, respectively. Soil factors affecting wetland plants were inconsistent at different stages of degradation. Changes in soil nitrogen and phosphorus content were correlated with changes in wetland vegetation community structure. Therefore, exploring how wetland degradation affects plants and soils can provide a scientific basis for wetland degradation assessment and wetland restoration.
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spelling doaj.art-55d811097b0b47d09dba0020f9a72c3a2024-02-25T04:34:52ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2024-02-01159111582Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil propertiesDaiji Wan0Peng Yu1Lingyang Kong2Jinsong Zhang3Yanhui Chen4Dandan Zhao5Jiping Liu6College of Tourism and Geographical Sciences, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, PR ChinaCollege of Tourism and Geographical Sciences, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, PR ChinaNortheast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130000, PR ChinaCollege of Tourism and Geographical Sciences, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, PR ChinaCollege of Tourism and Geographical Sciences, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, PR ChinaCollege of Tourism and Geographical Sciences, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, PR China; Corresponding authors.College of Tourism and Geographical Sciences, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, PR China; Corresponding authors.Plant community characteristics and soil properties are critical indicators for evaluating wetland degradation and restoration. In order to investigate how the degradation of inland salt marsh wetlands affects plants and soils as well as the response relationship between plants and soils under different degradation degrees, this paper selected inland salt marsh wetlands with different degradation degrees in the wetland area of western Songnen Plain, and analyzed the characteristics of plant communities, soils and their relationships. The results show that: that the important value of Gramineae plants decreased by about 21% with increasing degradation, while the vital value of Cyperaceae and weeds increased by 10% and 9%, respectively. Plant height decreased significantly, and coverage and density showed a decreasing and then increasing trend. Overall, species diversity shows a trend of increasing and then decreasing, indicating that the structure of plant communities tends to be more straightforward and more complex with increasing degradation. Soil electrical conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) content decreased significantly with the degree of degradation from ND (non degradation) to HD (heavy degradation) by 34.08%, 19.56%, and 35.82%, respectively. Soil C:N increased from 13.13 to 17.97. Soil N:P and C:P decreased from 5.56 to 3.28 and from 71.59 to 54.02, respectively. Soil factors affecting wetland plants were inconsistent at different stages of degradation. Changes in soil nitrogen and phosphorus content were correlated with changes in wetland vegetation community structure. Therefore, exploring how wetland degradation affects plants and soils can provide a scientific basis for wetland degradation assessment and wetland restoration.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24000396Inland salt marsh wetlandWetland degradationBiodiversityPlant community characteristicsSoil properties
spellingShingle Daiji Wan
Peng Yu
Lingyang Kong
Jinsong Zhang
Yanhui Chen
Dandan Zhao
Jiping Liu
Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
Ecological Indicators
Inland salt marsh wetland
Wetland degradation
Biodiversity
Plant community characteristics
Soil properties
title Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
title_full Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
title_fullStr Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
title_full_unstemmed Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
title_short Effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
title_sort effects of inland salt marsh wetland degradation on plant community characteristics and soil properties
topic Inland salt marsh wetland
Wetland degradation
Biodiversity
Plant community characteristics
Soil properties
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24000396
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