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Optimum water depth for restoration of Bolboschoenus planiculmis in wetlands in semi-arid regions

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Abstract

Bolboschoenus planiculmis is a key wetland plant in the semi-arid regions of Songnen Plain, China, providing food and habitat for the endangered Siberian crane. B. planiculmis wetlands are being degraded by water shortages caused by anthropogenic activities and climate changes. However, the vegetation dynamics under hydrological fluctuations have been rarely reported. We conducted a two-year field investigation in B. planiculmis wetlands to determine the vegetation response to water level changes, and a comparative control experiment to examine the restoration effect of supplemental water on degraded community. We found that the community biomass was positively related with water depth under natural conditions, whereas plant diversity and richness were negatively related. The population density, biomass, and root/shoot ratio of B. planiculmis exhibited quadratic relationships with water depth. The optimum ecological threshold of water depth determining B. planiculmis populations was 11.2–36.1 cm. The control experiment demonstrated that water depth at 0–10 cm during the early growing season and 10–25 cm at later growing stages can enhance the dominance of B. planiculmis and help it outcompete other macrophyte species. Understanding the water requirement cycles of B. planiculmis is valuable for guiding water management plans for the rehabilitation of degraded natural wetlands.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFA0607101), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of China (XDA23060402), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41871102; U19A2042; 41771108), and the Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province of China (20180201010SF; 20200201016JC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, Jilin, China

    Yu An, Tiejun Song, Yang Zhang, Shouzheng Tong & Bo Liu

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  1. Yu An
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  2. Tiejun Song
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  3. Yang Zhang
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  4. Shouzheng Tong
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Contributions

YA and TS: Writing and Editing; ST: Data analysis; YZ and BL: Sample collection. All authors contributed to the writing to additions and comments to the text.

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Correspondence to Tiejun Song.

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An, Y., Song, T., Zhang, Y. et al. Optimum water depth for restoration of Bolboschoenus planiculmis in wetlands in semi-arid regions. Hydrobiologia 849, 13–28 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04704-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-021-04704-9

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