Welcome to Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology! Today is Share:

Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Impacts of human disturbance on the species composition of higher plants in the wetlands around Dianchi Lake, Yunnan Province of Southwest China.

XIANG Xi-xi, WU Zhao-lu, LUO Kang, DING Hong-bo, ZHANG Hai-yan   

  1. (Institute of Ecology and Geobotany Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China)
  • Online:2013-09-18 Published:2013-09-18

Abstract: Introducing higher plants to build semi-natural wetland ecosystem is one of the key approaches to restore the wetlands and lakes that suffered from serious pollution and destruction. Based on the investigation data from 128 quadrats at 26 sampling sites in the wetlands around Dianchi Lake in December 2011-October 2012, and in combining with the references published in the 1960s, this paper discussed the impacts of human activities on the species composition of higher plants in the wetlands around the Lake. In 2012, there were 299 species of 88 families in the wetlands, of which, 181 species were native species, and 118 species were alien ones (including 32 invasive species). Of the 42 species of hydrophytes in the total species, 13 species were alien ones (including 2 invasive species). In comparing with the species data recorded in the 1960s, 232 plants were newly recorded and 43 species disappeared in 2012. Aquatic plants changed obviously. The decreased species were 2 submerged plants, 2 floating plants, and 5 floating leaved plants, and the increased species were 8 emergent plants. Fourteen community types were identified by cluster analysis, of which, the main communities were those dominated by alien species including Pistia stratiotes and Alternanthera philoxeroides. As compared with the data in the 1960s, the plant communities dominated by native species such as Ottelia acuminate and Vallisneria natans were not found presently. Therefore, in the practice of introducing higher plants to restore the degraded wetlands and lakes, it would be necessary to scientifically and appropriately select and blend plant species to avoid the wetland degradation by human activities.