Vegetation Reconstruction and Wetland Restoration of Waterway Regulation in Yangtze River

Abstract

Beach wetland, an important part of the river ecosystem, plays an insignificant role on the stability of the river ecosystem as a transition zone between the river and terrestrial ecosystems. Since the operation of Three Gorges Reservoir, water discharge, river channel erosion and lowering, the collapse of river bank slope at downstream of the dam and shrinkage of the beach, result in the adverse impact on the waterway conditions and also reduction of beach area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. In response to adverse changes in the middle reaches of Yangtze River since the operation of Three Gorges reservoir, Yangtze River Waterway Bureau will implement numerous protection engineering to prevent the collapse of bank and the degeneration of the beach. In the recent years, the protection structure with ecological functions is more and more widely used. The test proved that the colonization of plants in the structure of ecological protection can restore the beach vegetation, species diversity, and to prevent the wetland area to reduce and improve the ecological environment of the local area.