An ecological water replenishment model of urban lake riparian plant restoration based on the groundwater–vegetation interactions

Abstract

Ecological water replenishment is an effective method that can ensure the urban lake riparian plant restoration. Here, a coupled one-dimensional model was developed to simulate the plant restoration under the ecological water replenishment and the groundwater–vegetation interactions in the urban lake. Meanwhile, the habitat suitability rate was used to show the degree of the plant restoration. The simulation results revealed three characteristic zones of plant restoration along a cross-bank section under the combined effect of ecological water replenishment method and evapotranspiration: (1) an air-limiting zone at the lake bank where plant restoration was limited by air scarcity in the soil due to water replenishment; (2) a plant growth zone near the bank, which is the core zone of plant restoration that urban lake managers can consider; (3) a water-limiting zone far from the bank where the plant restoration was limited by water scarcity in the soil. Urban lake managers should give priority to control the initial water level in each cycle when ensuring the plant restoration. When the actual conditions were difficult to control the initial water level in each cycle, the replenishment cycle could be controlled to improve the plant restoration degree. These findings demonstrated that the interplays of ecological and hydrological processes in urban lake marshes, and provided a management model tool for urban lake managers facing riparian plant restoration problems.