The potentials of wetland restoration after farming differ between community types due to their differences in seed limit and salt tolerances in the Songnen Plain, China

Ecological Indicators

Ming Wang¹  Guodong Wang²  Ming Jiang²  Meiling Zhao³  Nanlin Hu³  Yantong Zhao³  Lei Qin⁴ 

[1] Corresponding author.;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China;State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, Institute for Peat and Mire Research, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China;

关键词: Soil saline-alkalization;    Soil seed bank;    Tussock-forming Carex;    Phragmites australis;    Wetland restoration;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Wetlands have degraded dramatically in recent decades due to wetland drainage, agricultural reclamation, and soil salinization in China. Soil seed banks, as a way of natural regeneration, can efficiently restore the aboveground vegetation if seeds can survive after farming. To explore the response of soil seed bank to farming and consequent environmental changes, we compared the structure and composition of soil seed banks between Carex-dominated and Phragmites-dominated natural wetlands and their adjacent farmed fields in the Songnen Plain, China. We found that the responses of soil seed banks to farming and saline-alkaline stress were different between the two community types. The seed density and species richness in Carex-dominated natural wetlands were significantly higher than nearby farmed fields, however, there was no significant difference between Phragmites-dominated natural wetlands and nearby farmed fields. Carex schmidtii and Phragmites australis, dominated in natural wetlands, were both missing after farming. At the same time, the invasive species Typha angustifolia dominated in the farmed fields. Redundancy analysis identified that soil salt content was one of the major factors which significantly affected seed bank composition. Saline-alkaline stress significantly restricted the seed germination in farmed Carex fields, however, it had no significant effect in farmed Phragmites fields. Our study indicated that the potential of vegetation restoration was restricted by seed limit and soil salinization, and it differed significantly between the original community types in the Songnen Plain. In addition to hydrological connection, special technologies (such as planting and seeding) and the improvement of soil conditions are also necessary for successful restoration in salt-affected wetlands.

【 授权许可】

Unknown