Liu Shiliang, Dong Yuhong, Sun Yongxiu, Wang Qingbo
State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Apr 1;14(7):1085. doi: 10.3390/plants14071085.
The Ruoergai Wetland is the highest and largest plateau peat swamp wetland in the world, providing more than 30% of the water for the upper reaches of the Yellow River. It performs vital regulatory functions in maintaining the quality and stability of the regional ecosystem of the Yellow River Basin. It is of great significance to study the spatial and temporal variability of water conservation services as well as ecological restoration and enhancement strategies at multiple scales. Based on field research, using the InVEST model, this study quantitatively assessed water conservation for a long period at the Ruoergai Wetland, proposing a strategy to improve water conservation capacity. The results showed that both grassland (mainly alpine meadow with Kobresia Willd and Cyperus papyrus) and wetland in the study area exhibited degradation. The proportions of significantly decreased, moderately decreased, slightly decreased areas were 50.64%, 16.81%, 11.64%, respectively. There were also significant changes in water conservation capacity from 2020 to 2023, with strong spatial heterogeneity. Average water conservation per unit area ranged from 52.70 to 211.99 mm/m, with a decreasing trend. However, in the past 10 years, the area of soil erosion decreased by about 4735 km. Although the soil erosion situation has improved to a large extent, there is still increasing soil erosion in some areas. Based on the field investigation, the intrinsic mechanisms of water conservation in alpine wetlands were elaborated, the driving forces behind the changes in water conservation functions were described, and further ecological restoration strategies were proposed from the perspectives of engineering measures, spatial zoning, and industrial structure.
若尔盖湿地是世界上海拔最高、面积最大的高原泥炭沼泽湿地，为黄河上游提供了30%以上的水源。它在维持黄河流域区域生态系统的质量和稳定性方面发挥着至关重要的调节作用。研究多尺度下的水源涵养服务时空变化以及生态修复与提升策略具有重要意义。基于实地调研，本研究利用InVEST模型对若尔盖湿地长期的水源涵养进行了定量评估，并提出了提高水源涵养能力的策略。结果表明，研究区的草地（主要是含有嵩草属植物和莎草的高寒草甸）和湿地均出现退化。显著减少、中度减少、轻度减少区域的比例分别为50.64%、16.81%、11.64%。2020年至2023年水源涵养能力也发生了显著变化，具有较强的空间异质性。单位面积平均水源涵养量在52.70至211.99毫米/平方米之间，呈下降趋势。然而，在过去10年里，土壤侵蚀面积减少了约4735平方千米。虽然土壤侵蚀状况在很大程度上得到了改善，但仍有一些地区的土壤侵蚀在增加。基于实地调查，阐述了高寒湿地水源涵养的内在机制，描述了水源涵养功能变化背后的驱动力，并从工程措施、空间分区和产业结构等方面提出了进一步的生态修复策略。
