Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, NJ, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, NJ, 210098, China.
Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, NJ, 210098, China; College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, NJ, 210098, China.
Mar Environ Res. 2024 Oct;201:106678. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106678. Epub 2024 Aug 17.
Coastal wetlands are extremely vulnerable to both marine damage and human activities. In order to protect these wetlands, many artificial seawalls have been constructed. However, studies are required to understand how coastal wetlands will evolve under the influence of artificial seawalls. Therefore, to understand this succession process of plants and their adaptation to habitats divided by seawalls, two different habitats inside and outside the seawalls were selected in Laizhou Bay, China. The results showed that there were 5 plant species outside the seawalls that were lower than the 13 species inside. Additionally, the dominant plant species were varied between the two habitats, with mostly annual herbs observed outside the seawalls and perennial shrubs inside. Soil salinity was higher outside the seawalls, which was the key impact factor of soil nutrient differences. The distribution of annual and perennial species may be constrained by spatial differences in soil stoichiometry. Therefore, the plants in coastal wetlands vary significantly at a small scale in response to the disturbance of artificial seawalls. The differences in soil and plants between the two habitats divided by the artificial seawalls provide a new insight for evaluating the artificial coastal projects. The only way to reduce the effects of seawalls on natural coastal wetland vegetation and ecosystem functions is to restore connectivity of tidal flow inside and outside the seawalls.
滨海湿地极易受到海洋破坏和人类活动的影响。为了保护这些湿地，许多人工海堤已经建成。然而，需要研究了解在人工海堤的影响下，滨海湿地将如何演变。因此，为了了解植物的这种演替过程及其对海堤分隔的栖息地的适应，在中国莱州湾选择了海堤内外两个不同的栖息地。结果表明，海堤外有 5 种植物的数量低于海堤内的 13 种。此外，两个栖息地的优势植物种类也不同，海堤外主要是一年生草本植物，海堤内主要是多年生灌木。海堤外的土壤盐分较高，这是土壤养分差异的关键影响因素。一年生和多年生物种的分布可能受到土壤化学计量空间差异的限制。因此，人工海堤的干扰导致滨海湿地的植物在小尺度上发生了显著变化。人工海堤分隔的两个栖息地之间的土壤和植物差异为评估人工海岸工程提供了新的视角。减少海堤对自然滨海湿地植被和生态系统功能影响的唯一方法是恢复海堤内外潮汐流的连通性。
