The current status, threats and protection way of Sanjiang Plain wetland, Northeast China

The Sanjiang Plain is a vast area of alluvial floodplains and low hills in northeast Heilongjiang Province. It is the largest tract of wetlands in China and East Asia outside of Siberia. 28 wetland nature reserves exist on the Sanjiang Plain, and three of them have been listed as wetlands of international importance to water bird conservation by the Ramsar Convention Bureau. The wetlands of Sanjiang Plain are noteworthy for its rich biodiversity, but they continue to decline in area and deteriorate in quality currently. The main threats or constrains, immediate cause, root cause and required response are analyzed in this paper, and the four aspects opinion such as improvement of watershed management, enhancement of protection and restoration of habitats and biodiversity, alternative livelihoods of rural residents living in and near natural wetland reserve, and reinforcement of capacity building of natural reserves are brought forward as the effective measures for the Sanjiang Plain wetland protection.

Nitrogen cycling of atmosphere-plant-soft system in the typical Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The nitrogen （N） distribution and cycling of atmosphere-plant-soil system in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland （TMCW） and marsh meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland （MMCW） in the Sanjiang plain were studied by a compartment model. The results showed that the N wet deposition amount was 0.757 gN/（m^2·a）, and total inorganic N （TIN） was the main body （0.640 gN/（m^2·a））. The ammonia volatilization amounts of TMCW and MMCW soils in growing season were 0.635 and 0.687 gN/m^2, and the denitrification gaseous lost amounts were 0.617 and 0.405 gN/m^2, respectively. In plant subsystem, the N was mainly stored in root and litter. Soil organic N was the main N storage of the two plant-soil systems and the proportions of it were 93.98% and 92.16%, respectively. The calculation results of N turnovers among compartments of TMCW and MMCW showed that the uptake amounts of root were 23.02 and 28.18 gN/（m^2·a） and the values of aboveground were 11.31 and 6.08 gN/（m^2·a）, the re-translocation amounts from aboveground to root were 5.96 and 2.70 gN/（m^2·a）, the translocation amounts from aboveground living body to litter were 5.35 and 3.38 gN/（m^2·a）, the translocation amounts from litter to soil were larger than 1.55 and 3.01 gN/（m^2·a）, the translocation amounts from root to soil were 14.90 and 13.17 gN/（m^2·a）, and the soil （0-15 cm） N net mineralization amounts were 1.94 and 0.55 gN/（m^2·a）, respectively. The study of N balance indicated that the two plant-soil systems might be situated in the status of lacking N, and the status might induce the degradation of C. angustifolia wetland.

Study on ecological fragility of wetlands in Sanjiang Plain

As the largest inland freshwater wetlands in China. Sanjiang Plain plays an important role in environmental protection from local scale to global scale. However, due to the fragility of the wetland ecosystems and the environmental disturbances on them caused by natural disasters and human activities, loss and degeneration of wetlands in this area are considerable. Characteristics and reasons of wetlands' ecological fragility in Sanjiang Plain are analyzed and then the evaluation method and index system on ecological fragility of wetlands in Sanjiang Plain are presented. The result of the evaluation shows that the wetlands' ecological fragility in Sanjiang Plain is serious. The value of this method and index system is also discussed in the paper.

Sulfur cycle in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland ecosystem in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The sulfur cycle and its compartmental distribution within an atmosphere-plant-soil system was studied using a compartment model in the typical meadow Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland in the Sanjiang Plain Northeast China. The results showed that in the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem, soil was the main storage compartment and current hinge of sulfur in which 98.4% sulfur was accumulated, while only 1.6% sulfur was accumulated in the plant compartment. In the plant subsystem, roots and litters were the main storage compartment of sulfur and they remained 83.5% of the total plant sulfur. The calculations of sulfur turnover through the compartments of the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem demonstrated that the above-ground component took up 0.99 gS/m^2 from the root, of which 0.16 gS/m^2 was translocated to the roots and 0.83 gS/m^2 to the litter. The roots took in 1.05 gS/m^2 from the soil, subsequent translocation back to the soil accounted for 1.31 gS/m^2, while there was 1.84 gS/m^2 in the litter and the net transfer of sulfur to the soil was more than 0.44 gS/（m^2·a）. The emission of H2S from the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem to the atmosphere was 1.83 mgS/（m^2·a）, while carbonyl sulfide （COS） was absorbed by the typical meadow C. angustifolia wetland ecosystem from the atmosphere at the rate of 1.76 mgS/（m^2·a）. The input of sulfur by the rainfall to the ecosystem was 4.85 mgS/m^2 during the growing season. The difference between input and output was 4.78 mgS/m^2, which indicated that sulfur was accumulated in the ecosystem and may cause wetland acidify in the future.

Agricultural Climate Change and Wetland Agriculture Study under the Climate Change in the Sanjiang Plain

With linear curvefitting,Mann-kendall method and Yamamoto method,≥10 ℃accumulated temperature and precipitation from May to September of 6 meteorological stations(Baoqing,fujin,Jiamusi,Hegang,Jixi and Hulin) from 1978 to 2007 were used to explore 30-year agricultural climate change and trend in the Sanjiang Plain.The results showed that ≥10 ℃ accumulated temperature of the 6 stations have risen by 141.0 ℃ to 287.4 ℃ when estimated by their significant linear trends(n=30,α=0.05) over the last 30 years(1978 to 2007).The rates of warming for the last 30 years range from 4.70 ℃per year to 9.58 ℃ per year.There are not significant linear trends on precipitation from May to September of the 6 stations over the last 30 years.The period of 1978 to 1998 in which ≥10 ℃ accumulated temperature is lower is consistent with that in which there is more precipitation from May to September,and warming and drying period has occurred in the Sanjiang Plain since 1999.Under the background of warming and drying agricultural climate,high yield cultivation of Phragmites australis and establishment of Phragmites australis-fish(crab) symbiosis ecosystem in natural mire are the ways for reasonable use of natural wetland.The area of paddy fields has been increasing from 7.25×104 ha in 1978 to 121.2×104 ha in 2006.It is proposed that paddy field range should not be expanded blindly toward the north in the Sanjiang Plain,and chilling injury forecast and prevention should be pay attention to.In the area that the chilling injury happens frequently,the rotation between rice and other crops should be implemented.Measures,which combine drainage,store and irrigation,should be taken instead of single drainage on comprehensive control of regional low and wet croplands to ensure controlling drought and flood.

Effects of Wetland Reclamation on Soil Nutrient Losses and Reserves in Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The carbon （C）, nitrogen （N） and phosphorus （P） variations of a temperate wetland soil under continuous cultivation for 40 yr were determined and evaluated in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. The results showed that the soil organic carbon （SOC） and total nitrogen （TN） contents in each soil layer decreased sharply after cultivation for 2-3 yr, and exhibited minor differences after cultivation for 11 yr, which showed an exponential decline curve with the increase of cultivation years. The reduction rates of carbon and nitrogen reserves were 14.79% and 28.53% yr^-1 at the initial reclamation stages of 2-3 yr and then decreased to 2.02-3.08% yr^-1 and 1.98-2.93% yr^-1 after cultivation for 20 yr, respectively. Soil total phosphorus （TP） reserves decreased within cultivation for 5 yr, and then gradually restored to the initial level after cultivation for 17 yr. Both SOC and TN could be restored slightly when the farmland was left fallow for 8 yr after reclamation for 11 yr, whereas TP had no significant difference. These results demonstrated that wetland cultivation was one of the most important factors influencing on the nutrient fate and reserves in soil, which could lead to the rapid nutrient release and slow restoration through abandon cultivation, therefore protective cultivation techniques preventing nutrients from loss should be immediately established after wetland reclamation.

Distribution characteristics of dissolved organic carbon in annular wetland soil-water solutions through soil profiles in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

Overwhelming evidence reveals that concentrations of dissolved organic carbon （DOC） have increased in streams which brings negative environmental impacts. DOC in stream flow is mainly originated from soil-water solutions of watershed. Wetlands prove to be the most sensitive areas as an important DOC reserve between terrestrial and fluvial biogeosystems. This reported study was focused on the distribution characteristics and the controlling factors of DOC in soil-water solutions of annular wetland, i.e., a dishing wetland and a forest wetland together, in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. The results indicate that DOC concentrations in soilwater solutions decreased and then increased with increasing soil depth in the annular wetland. In the upper soil layers of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm, DOC concentrations in soil-water solutions linearly increased from edge to center of the annular wetland （R^2 = 0.3122 and R^2 = 0.443）. The distribution variations were intimately linked to DOC production and utilization and DOC transport processes in annular wetland soil-water solutions. The concentrations of total organic carbon （TOC）, total carbon （TC） and Fe（II）, DOC mobility and continuous vertical and lateral flow affectext the distribution variations of DOC in soil-water solutions. The correlation coefficients between DOC concentrations and TOC, TC and Fe（II） were 0.974, 0.813 and 0.753 respectively. These distribution characteristics suggested a systematic response of the distribution variations of DOC in annular wetland soil-water solutions to the geometry of closed depressions on a scale of small catchments. However, the DOC in soil pore water of the annular wetland may be the potential source of DOC to stream flow on watershed scale. These observations also implied the fragmentation of wetland landscape could bring the spatial-temporal variations of DOC distribution and exports, which would bring negative environmental impacts in watersheds of the Sanjiang Plain.

DISTRIBUTION OF MERCURY IN TYPICAL WETLAND PLANTS IN THE SANJIANG PLAIN7

Total mercury concentration of typical wetland plants was analyzed in this paper. There were great differences of total mercury concentration among different plants: moss>hydrophyte>sedge>herbage>shrub. Total mercury concentrations show an increasing trend from vascular plants to bryophytes, and from dry to wet lands. The mercury concentration of wetland plants was higher than that of crops. The wetland soil was the source of mercury in the air close to the ground, so it affected the concentration of mercury in the plant. In different parts of a plant, mercury concentration was in the order of: dead stand>root>leaf>stem. Mercury concentration increased at the initial stage and decreased in the end of the growing season. According to the mercury content and biomass, mercury stock of plants was 39.4 : m2 above ground in Calamagrostis angustifolia wetland and 35.8:蘥 /m2 in Carex lasiocarpa wetland.

Influence of environment and substrate quality on the decomposition of wetland plant root in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

The litterbag method was used to study the decomposition of wetland plant root in three wetlands along a water level gradient in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China.These wetlands are Calamagrostis angustifolia(C.aa),Carex meyeriana(C.ma)and Carex lasiocarpa (C.la).The objective of our study is to evaluate the influence of environment and substrate quality on decomposition rates in the three wetlands.Calico material was used as a standard substrate to evaluate environmental influences.Roots native to each we...

Spatial Variation of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Soils of Riparian Wetlands and Responses to Hydro-geomorphologic Changes in Sanjiang Plain, China

Spatial variation of dissolved organic carbon(DOC) in soils of riparian wetlands and responses to hydro-geomorphologic changes in the Sanjiang Plain were analyzed through in situ collecting soil samples in the Naoli River and the Bielahong River. The results showed that the average contents of DOC for soil layer of 0–100 cm were 730.6 mg/kg, 250.9 mg/kg, 423.0 mg/kg and 333.1 mg/kg respectively from riverbed to river terrace along the transverse directions of the Naoli watershed. The content of the soil DOC was the highest in the riverbed, lower in the high floodplain and much lower in the river terrace, and it was the lowest in the low floodplain. The difference in the content and vertical distribution of DOC between the riverbed and the three riparian wetlands was significant, while it was not significant among the low floodplain, the high floodplain and the river terrace. The variability of soil DOC was related to the hydrological connectivity between different landscape position of the riparian wetlands and the adjacent stream. Extremely significant correlations were observed between DOC and total organic carbon(TOC), total iron(TFe), ferrous iron(Fe(II)) whose correlation coefficients were 0.819, –0.544 and –0.709 in riparian wetlands of the Naoli River. With the increase of wetland destruction, soil p H increased and soil DOC content changed. The correlation coefficients between soil DOC and TOC, TFe, Fe(II) also changed into 0.759, –0.686 and –0.575 respectively in the Bielahong River. Under the impact of drainage ditches, the correlations between soil DOC and TFe, Fe(II) were not obvious, while the soil p H was weakly alkaline and was negatively correlated with soil DOC in the previous high floodplain. It indicates that riparian hydro-geomorphology is the main factor that could well explain this spatial variability of soil DOC, and the agricultural environmental hydraulic works like ditching also must be considered.

Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on Tissue Nutrition and Biomass of Freshwater Wetland Plant in Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China

Nitrogen (4, 10, 20 and 40g/m2) and phosphorus (1.2, 4.8 and 9.6g/m2) were applied to tanks to evaluating the effects of N and P additions on plant tissue nutrition and the biomass of two freshwater wetland plants in the Sanjiang Plain of Northeast China, namely Carex lasiocarpa and Carex meyeriana. For C. lasiocarpa, the total N concentration (TN) of plant tissues under the treatment of 10g/m2 was lower compared with the other N treatments. Initially, C. lasiocarpa exhibited a significant increase of biomass as compared with the control value, reaching the maximum of 31.20±4.01g/tank under the treatment of 10g/m2, and then dropped to 18.02±1.53g/tank under the treatment of 40g/m2. For C. meyeriana, TN generally increased with increasing amount of N applied. High N applied produced more aboveground biomass than low N applied. C. meyeriana, as the accompanying species, can adapt itself to the wetland enriched by N, and it may replace C. lasiocarpa as the dominant species of wetland. The total P concentration (TP) in tissues of C. lasiocarpa increased with P addition. The aboveground biomass of C. lasiocarpa increased with P addition, and it changed from 18.77±3.29g/tank to 46.03±3.95g/tank. However, TP of tissue may accelerate the C. meyeriana development under the treatment of 1.2g/m2. P accumulation contributes to the dominance of C. lasiocarpa but limits the production of C. meyeriana, and the latter may disappear gradually from the wetland enriched by P. Increased input of N and P might have an influence on wetland plant community composition and structure, so the effects of nutrient inputs and accumulation should be considered to protect the freshwater wetland.

DYNAMIC CHANGES OF THE WETLAND AND ITS DRIVING FORCES IN FUJIN REGION IN SANJIANG PLAIN,CHINA

Wetland is a kind of key natural resources. However, the wetlands have been shrinking rapidly in Sangjiang Plain and its functions have been degrading. These all hold back the sustainable development of human communities, and lead to great change in the land use /cover (LUCC), consequently caused global changes in climate, water cycling, etc.. Taken Fujin region as a case study, spatial and temporal dynamic processes of wetland and its driving forces were analyzed from 1954 to 2000 in this paper. It showed that the wetlands had been reduced from 52×104 ha to 11×104 ha in areas during the nearly 50 years . The percentage of wetland areas reduced from 61.27% to 12.39%. On the other hand, cultivated land increased from 22×104 ha to 60×104 ha in areas. The percentage of the areas increased from 25.31% to 70.45%. Further quantitative analysis of the wetland landscape conversion characteristics and the correlation analysis between the change of wetland areas and population increase were made. The results showed that 40×104 ha wetlands had been converted to cultivated land within half of a century; the correlation between the rate of wetland loss and that of population increased is nearly -0.922. So it was concluded that the main driving force of wetland shrinkage in Fujin region was the colonization of human being.

A Macroinvertebrate Multimetric Index for the Bioassessment of Wetlands Adjacent to Agriculture Fields in the Sanjiang Plain, China

Adjacent intensive agriculture disturbs the natural condition of wetlands.However, to assess the effect of this agriculture on wetlands, few studies have used indices based on aquatic invertebrates.Multi-metric indices(MMIs) have been successfully used to assess freshwater ecosystems worldwide and are an important management tool, but little is known about their applicability in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China.In this study, we developed a MMIs for aquatic invertebrates to assess freshwater wetlands in this region.The aquatic invertebrate assemblages were sampled in 27 wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain that included those in natural reserves and those affected by adjacent, intensive agriculture.Twenty-four candidate metrics were initially reviewed and screened before four core metrics were selected: total number of taxa, number of Hemiptera taxa, proportion of Gastropoda, and proportion of predators.Mann-Whitney U tests, Box and Whisker plots, correlation analyses, and redundant metric tests were used to assess the ability of metrics to distinguish among reference and impaired wetlands.Four ordinal rating categories for wetland were defined: poor, fair, good, and excellent.Of the impaired freshwater wetlands, 76.2% were in poor or fair categories.The MMIs was robust in discriminating reference wetlands from impaired wetlands and therefore have potential as a biomonitoring tool to assess the condition and to guide the restoration efforts of freshwater wetlands in Northeast China.

Simulation Study on Purification Efficiency for Nitrogen in Different Types of Wetlands in Sanjiang Plain, China

The purification law of nitrogen in Deyeuxia angustifolia, Carex lasiocarpa and Deyeuxia angustifolia-Carex lasiocarpa combined wetland systems in the Sanjiang Plain, China was studied by field simulation experiment. The results indicate that the removal rates of TN, NH4+-N and NO3--N in above three types of wetlands present an obvious logarithm growth trend along with the time. There are evident removal effects for NH4+-N and NO3--N in water bodies of wetlands after the 30th day of experiment, with the removal rates over 80.0%, but the removal rate of TN is slightly low, being 63.1%-74.3%. NO3--N is most quickly removed by the combined wetland, and NH4+-N by Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland. The removal speeds of TN by the three wetland systems are comparatively slow, of which the Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland is the fastest. In consideration of plant growth season, Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland has much more practical application value in purifying nitrogen. These results can provide references for the study on the purification function of wetlands and the control of non-point source pollution in Northeast China.

A STUDY ON WETLAND CLASSIFICATION MODEL OF REMOTE SENSING IN THE SANGJIANG PLAIN

The Sanjiang Plain, where nearly 20 kinds of wetlands exist now, is one of the largest wetlands distributed area of wetlands in China. To identify each of them and pick up them separately by means of automatic interpretation of remote sensing from TM Landsat images is extremely important. However, most of the types of wetlands can not be divided each other due to the similarity and the illegibility of the wetland spectrum shown in TM images. Special disposals to remote sensing images include the spectrum enhancement of wetland information, the pseudo color composite of TM images of different bands and the algebra enhancement of TM images. By this way some kinds of wetlands such as Sparganium stoloniferum and Bolboschoenus maritimus can be identified. But in many cases, these methods are still insufficient because of the noise brought from the atmosphere transportation and so on. The physical features of wetlands reflecting the diversification of spectrum information of wetlands, which include the spatial temporal characteristics of the wetlands distribution, the landscape differences of wetlands from season to season, the growing environment and the vertical structure of wetlands vegetation and so on, must be taken into consideration. Besides these, the artificial alteration to spatial structure of wetlands such as the exploitation of some types of them can be also used as important symbols of wetlands identification from remote sensing images. On the basis of the above geographics analysis, a set of wetlands classification models of remote sensing could be established, and many types of wetlands such as paddy field, reed swamp, peat mire, meadow, CAREX marsh and paludification meadow and so on, will be distinguished consequently. All the ways of geographical analysis and model establishment will be given in detail in this article.

Response of Regeneration Diversity of Carex Lasiocarpa Community to Different Water Levels in Sanjiang Plain,China

The species diversity at the regeneration stage, inflenced by different water levels, is important for community composition in the later growing season.Regeneration diversity of Carex lasiocarpa community under different water levels was studied at two stages, recruitment and adult, in the Sanjiang Plain, Heilongjiang Province, China.The results showed that, at the two growing stages, important value of C.lasiocarpa population and species richness of the community decreased with the increasing water level, while the Simpson and Shannon-Wiener diversity indexes and Pielou evenness index increased.Under different water levels, community diversities were higher at the recruitment stage, while population important values of C.lasiocarpa were higher at the adult stage.Indexes in vegetation evaluation must be chosen prudentially for successful restoration and effective management of wetlands, and especially for wetland restoration, the optimal time should be selected according to the restoration objectives and costs.

Quantitative Simulation on Soil Moisture Contents of Two Typical Vegetation Communities in Sanjiang Plain,China

Different types of vegetation occupy different geomorphology and water gradient environments in the San-jiang Plain,indicating that the soil moisture dynamics and water balance patterns of the different vegetation communi-ties might differ from each other.In this paper,a lowland system,perpendicular to the Nongjiang River in the Honghe National Nature Reserve(HNNR),was selected as the study area.The area was occupied by the non-wetland plant forest and the typical wetland plant meadow.The Microsoft Windows-based finite element analysis software package for simulating water,heat,and solute transport in variably saturated porous media(HYDRUS),which can quantita-tively simulate water,heat,and/or solute movement in variably-saturated porous media,was used to simulate soil moisture dynamics in the root zone(20-40 cm) of those two plant communities during the growing season in 2005.The simulation results for soil moisture were in a good agreement with measured data,with the coefficient of determi-nation(R2) of 0.44-0.69 and root mean square error(RMSE) ranging between 0.0291 cm3/cm3 and 0.0457 cm3/cm3,and index of agreement(d) being from 0.612 to 0.968.During the study period,the volumetric soil moisture content of meadow increased with the depth and its coefficient of variation decreased with the depth(from 20 cm to 40 cm),while under the forest the soil moisture content at different depths varied irregularly.The calculated result of water budget showed that the water budget deficit of the meadow was higher than that of the forest,suggesting that the meadow is more likely to suffer from water stress than the forest.The quantitative simulation by HYDRUS in this study did not take surface runoff and plant growth processes into account.Improved root water uptake and surface runoff models will be needed for higher accuracy in further researches.

Review of Rapid Transformation of Floodplain Wetlands in Northeast China： Roles of Human Development and Global Environmental Change

Northeast China is the region with the largest area of wetlands in China. The Sanjiang Plain and the Songnen Plain are large freshwater marsh distribution regions that are affected by climate warming and by the increasing frequency and density of extreme weather and are the regions most subject to disturbances by human activities in Northeast China. The wetlands of the Sanjiang Plain and the Songnen Plain have shrunk severely in the past 60 years, and wetland functions have been reduced substantially because of climate change, unreasonable land use, fire episodes, engineering and construction works and urbanization. Large-scale agricultural development started in the 1950 s has been the most important driving factor for wetland loss and degradation in the Sanjiang Plain. Water shortage has been the most important factor for degradation and fragmentation of wetlands in the Songnen Plain. To mitigate wetland degradation and better protect wetlands, special regulations, long-term mechanisms and technical support of wetland protection should be established. A wetland compensation program should be implemented, and technologies for increasing the adaptive capacity of wetlands should be developed. Moreover, it is most important to find the balanced threshold between agricultural development and wetland protection.

Study on cumulative effects of different cultivation patterns on wetland soil environment

Cumulative effects on wetland soils under different cultivation patterns were analyzed in the experimental fields of the Ecological Experimental Station of Mire-wetlands in Sanjiang Plain. The results suggested that the paddy field combined with the glebe to act on the soil environment. Under the combination of natural and anthropological factors, the cultivation of the paddy field and the glebe obviously related with different kinds of fertility factors of soil. The remarkable relation among organic matter, total nitrogen and available nitrogen reflected the fertilization of the soil at some extent.

Effect of Freezing-Thawing Process on Wetland Soil Iron

The iron concentrations of snows,semi-melting snows,snowmelts,and ditch waters were observed in four typical microhabitats,Carex lasiocarpa marsh(Ⅰ), Calamagrostis angustifolia wet meadow(Ⅱ),dry land (Ⅲ)and paddy field(Ⅳ),of Sanjiang Plain Wetland, Northeast China.Each sample was collected from three sites of one microhabitat,mixed together, filtrated with 0.45μm membrane,and tested using atomic absorption spectrometry(AAS)for iron measurement.The iron concentrations of soil solutions were investigated as well.Each soil solution was in-situ extracted by negative pressure,filtrated with 0.45μm membrane,and tested using AAS,too. The results showed that the wet precipitation of iron from snow were little to detect.The loss of iron was attributed to the interaction of water and soil surface. The iron concentrations of snowmelts were 7.4,15,