Abstract
Groundwater chemistry has an important impact on the vegetation distribution in inland areas. An in-depth understanding of the impact of groundwater chemistry on vegetation can help in developing an effective management strategy to protect the inland ecosystem. The aim of this study was to identify the influence of groundwater chemicals on species diversity and the distribution characteristics of wetland plants at multiple scales based on the groundwater chemical data from 15 sampling points and the distribution data of 13 plants in the Sugan Lake Wetland in 2016. The results show that the groundwater of the Sugan Lake Wetland is weakly alkaline, with high salinity and hardness; the water chemical type is Na-SO4-Cl; the concentration of the major water chemical parameters is significantly different and is the highest in the northwest, followed by the southwest, and is the lowest in the east; with an increase in the groundwater depth, the concentration of major water chemical parameters first showed an increasing trend followed by a decreasing trend; Artemisia frigida Willd, Poa annua L. and Triglochin maritimum L. were adapted to the environment with a higher ion concentration of the groundwater, and their salt resistance was the strongest; Blysmus sinocompressus and Polygonum are more adapted to the environment with lower salinity and hardness of groundwater; Thermopsis lanceolata has stronger adaptability to the ion concentration, salinity, and hardness of groundwater; other plants are adapted to environments where the ion concentration, salinity, and hardness of the groundwater are moderate.
Highlights
Water resources are the basis for maintaining the ecological environment and social development, and water quality is the key to protecting the ecological environment and ensuring social and economic sustainability [1,2]
Zhao Feng and Jin Hailong [15] studied the relationship between the groundwater hydrochemical characteristics and the growth of Populus euphratica of the Aqikesu River in the Aibi Lake Wetland Nature Reserve
Howard [18] used Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to identify and map the distribution of groundwater-dependent ecosystems in California to clarify the relationship between groundwater and surface ecosystems
Summary
Water resources are the basis for maintaining the ecological environment and social development, and water quality is the key to protecting the ecological environment and ensuring social and economic sustainability [1,2]. It is important to clarify the relationship between groundwater chemical characteristics and the distribution and species diversity of the vegetation. Antonellini [12] studied the effects of groundwater salinity on the species richness of coastal pine forests and wetland vegetation in Ravenna, Italy, and found that pines have strong salt resistance (12 g/L) but cannot survive in shallow water. By studying the relationship between groundwater chemical characteristics and vegetation, specific factors affecting vegetation growth can be more clearly identified. An Lesheng [14] analyzed the impact of key water-salt factors of the groundwater on vegetation in the Yellow River Delta. In terms of research methods, remote sensing techniques and models have been widely used in the study of the relationship between groundwater and vegetation [17]. The relationship between wetland groundwater characteristics and vegetation has received extensive attention, research on alpine inland wetlands is still non-existent to the best of our knowledge
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