Paul Siddhartho Shekhar, Hasselquist Eliza Maher, Jarefjäll Amanda, Ågren Anneli M
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Skogsmarksgränd, 901 83, Umeå, Sweden.
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden.
Ambio. 2023 Jan;52(1):182-194. doi: 10.1007/s13280-022-01770-8. Epub 2022 Aug 19.
Human modification of hydrological connectivity of landscapes has had significant consequences on ecosystem functioning. Artificial drainage practices have fundamentally altered northern landscapes, yet these man made channels are rarely considered in ecosystem management. To better understand the effects of drainage ditches, we conducted a landscape-scale analysis across eleven selected study regions in Sweden. We implemented a unique approach by backfilling ditches in the current digital elevation model to recreate the prehistoric landscape, thus quantifying and characterizing the channel networks of prehistoric (natural) and current (drained) landscapes. Our analysis detected that 58% of the prehistoric natural channels had been converted to ditches. Even more striking was that the average channel density increased from 1.33 km km in the prehistoric landscape to 4.66 km km in the current landscape, indicating the extent of ditching activities in the northern regions. These results highlight that man-made ditches should be accurately mapped across northern landscapes to enable more informed decisions in ecosystem management.
人类对景观水文连通性的改变对生态系统功能产生了重大影响。人工排水措施从根本上改变了北方的景观，但在生态系统管理中很少考虑这些人工渠道。为了更好地理解排水沟的影响，我们在瑞典的11个选定研究区域进行了景观尺度分析。我们采用了一种独特的方法，通过在当前数字高程模型中回填沟渠来重建史前景观，从而量化和表征史前（自然）景观和当前（排水后）景观的渠道网络。我们的分析发现，58%的史前自然渠道已被改造成沟渠。更惊人的是，平均渠道密度从史前景观中的1.33千米/平方千米增加到当前景观中的4.66千米/平方千米，这表明北方地区沟渠活动的程度。这些结果凸显出，应在北方景观中准确绘制人工沟渠的地图，以便在生态系统管理中做出更明智的决策。
