Rangeland Privatization and Its Impacts on the Zoige Wetlands on the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

The high Zoige Basin （Ruoergai Plateau） on the eastern Tibetan Plateau is a fault depression formed during intensive uplifting of the Tibetan Plateau. The wetland is globally important in biodiversity and is composed of marshes, bogs, fens, wet meadows and shallow water interspersed with low hills and sub-alpine meadows. Most of the Zoige wetlands have long been one of the most important grazing lands in China. Recent rangeland policy has allowed grazing, and usable wetland areas have been being legally allocated to individuals or groups of households on a long-term lease basis. Privatizafion of the wetland has impacted the Zoige wetlands in aspects of hydrologic condition, landscape and biodiversity. The uneven spatial distribution of water resources onprivatelands has led to the practice of extracting ground water, which has decreased the perched water table in Zoige. Fencing off the rangelands and grazing on expanding sand dunes have affected landscapes. Variation in the water table has led to the changes in vegetation diversity, resulting in the changes in wildlife and aquatic diversities and ecosystem processes. Making use all year round of the pasture that was previously grazed only in summer has shrunk the daily activity space of wildlife, and the newly erected fences blocked the movement of wild animals looking for food in the snow to lower and open areas. To maintain the favorable conditions of the Zoige wetland ecosystem, the author suggests that, in addition to biophysical research and implementation of conservation practices, there is an immediate need to initiate an integrated management program, increase public awareness of wetland functions and provide better training for the local conservation staff.

A Study on the Effects of the Surrounding Faults on Water Loss in the Zoige Wetland,China

The Zoige wetland is the biggest alpine wetland in the world,and an important water resource of the Yellow River.Due to natural and human factors,the Zoige wetland has been seriously degraded.Existing studies on the Zoige wetland mainly focus on the macro features of the wetland,while the influence of the surrounding faults on the Zoige wetland degradation is rarely studied.This study uses terrain data to analyze the cover change and the water loss caused by the Wqie-Seji fault based on the distributed hydrological model.The simulated water loss demonstrates that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) is the most important factor for inducing water loss.The fault is also a factor that cannot be neglected,which has caused 33% of the wetland water loss.Therefore,it is of importance to study the influence of the fault on the wetland degradation.

Driving forces of land use and land cover change (LUCC) in the Zoige Wetland, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The Zoige Wetland is located in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which is highly sensitive to global environment change and human disturbance because of its high elevation and cold environment, thus, it＇s a hotspot for land use and land cover change （LUCC） research. We used Landsat MSS images from 1975, Landsat ETM images from 2000, and Landsat TM images fi：om 1990 and 2005 to assess the LUCC in the study area, using GIS techniques, as well as topographic, vegetation, and soil maps combined with field investigations. The monitoring result shows that the study area＇s environment degraded rapidly between 1975 and 2005, including wetland shrinkage from 5,308 km2 to 4,980 lan2, sandy land expansion from 112 krn2 to 137 krn2, forest land decreasing from 5,686 km2 to 5,443 km2, and grassland degradation from 12,309 km2 to 10,672 km2. According to the analysis of meteorological data and social-economic statistical data, we concluded that the LUCC in the Zoige Wetland was caused by both natural and anthropogenic factors, but human activities were primarily responsible for the observed LUCC, thereby, we suggest human behaviors must be adjusted to control environmental degradation.

Landscape Pattern Evolution Processes of Alpine Wetlands and Their Driving Factors in the Zoige Plateau of China

Zoige Plateau wetlands are located in the northeastern corner of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The landscape pattern evolution processes in the Zoige Plateau and their driving factors were identified by analyzing the dynamic changes in landscape modification and conversion and their dynamic rates of alpine wetlands over the past four decades.The results showed that the landscape conversion between wetlands and non-wetlands mainly occurred during the period from 1966 to 1986.The marsh wetland area converted from lake and river wetlands was larger because of swamping compared to other wetland landscapes.Meanwhile,the larger area of marsh wetlands was also converted to lake wetlands more than other types of wetlands.The modification processes mainly occurred among natural wetland landscapes in the first three periods.Obvious conversions were observed between wetland and nonwetland landscapes(i.e.,forestland,grassland,and other landscapes) in the Zoige Plateau.These natural wetland landscapes such as river,lake and marsh wetlands showed a net loss over the past four decades,whereas artificial wetland landscapes(i.e.,paddy field and reservoir and pond wetlands) showed a net decrease.The annual dynamic rate of the whole wetland landscape was 0.72%,in which the annual dynamic rate of river wetlands was the highest,followed by lake wetlands,while marsh wetlands had the lowest dynamic rate.The integrated landscape dynamic rate showed a decreasing trend in the first three periods.The changes in wetland landscape patterns were comprehensively controlled by natural factors and human activities,especially human activities play an important role in changing wetland landscape patterns.

A Method for Alpine Wetland Delineation and Features of Border: Zoigê Plateau, China

Accurate wetland delineation is the basis of wetland definition and mapping, and is of great importance for wetland management and research. The Zoige Plateau on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was used as a research site for research on alpine wetland delineation. Several studies have analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern and dynamics of these alpine wetlands, but none have addressed the issues of wetland boundaries. The objective of this work was to discriminate the upper boundaries of alpine wetlands by coupling ecological methods and satellite observations. The combination of Landsat 8 images and supervised classification was an effective method for rapid identification of alpine wetlands in the Zoig6 Plateau. Wet meadow was relatively stable compared with hydric soils and wetland hydrology and could be used as a primary indicator for discriminating the upper boundaries of alpine wetlands. A slope of less than 4.5° could be used as the threshold value for wetland delineation. The normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） in 434 field sites showed that a threshold value of 0.3 could distinguish grasslands from emergent marsh and wet meadow in September. The median normalized difference water index （NDWI） of emergent marsh remained more stable than that of wet meadow and grasslands during the period from September until July of the following year. The index of mean density in wet meadow zones was higher than the emergent and upland zones. Over twice the number of species occurred in the wet meadow zone compared with the emergent zone, and close to the value of upland zone. Alpine wetlands in the three reserves in 2014 covered 1175.19 kin2 with a classification accuracy of 75.6%. The combination of ecological methods and remote sensing technology will play an important role in wetland delineation at medium and small scales. The correct differentiation between wet meadow and grasslands is the key to improving the accuracy of future wetland delineation.

Oviposition Site Selection of the Plateau Frog (Nanorana pleskei) in the Zoige Wetland, China

For oviparous species, oviposition site selection influences adult reproductive success as well as the fitness of the resulting offspring. Females usually choose potential egg-laying sites depending on abundance and quality to maximize their reproductive success. We focused on the oviposition site selection of this plateau frog in Zoige wetland and investigated how the egg-laying pattern of the females influences their offspring＇s survival. We found that shallow waters, decentralized spawning patterns, and egg attachment to appropriate distance to the water surface were the main spawning strategies of Nanorana pleskei endemic to Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. We argued that drought caused by increasing temperature and variable precipitation has probably influenced N. pleskei reproductive success, which may be a crucial reason for its population decline. Our findings have important significance for habitat preservation, increasing embryo survival and establishing practical conservation policies.

Responses of soil inhabiting nitrogen-cycling microbial communities to wetland degradation on the Zoige Plateau,China

The wetlands on the Zoige Plateau have experienced serious degradation,with most of the original marsh being converted to marsh meadow or meadow.Based on the 3 wetland degradation stages,we determined the effects of wetland degradation on the structure and relative abundance of nitrogencycling(nitrogen-fixing,ammonia-oxidizing,and denitrifying) microbial communities in 3 soil types(intact wetland:marsh soil;early degrading wetland:marsh meadow soil;and degraded wetland:meadow soil) using 454-pyrosequencing.The structure and relative abundance of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities differed in the 3 soil types.Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum in most soil samples but the most abundant soil nitrogenfixing and denitrifying microbial bacteria differed at the class,order,family,and genus levels among the 3soil types.At the genus level,the majority of nitrogenfixing bacterium sequences related to Bradyrhizobium were from marsh and marsh meadow soils;whereas those related to Geobacter originated from meadow soil.The majority of ammonia-oxidizing bacterium sequences related to Nitrosospira were from marsh(except for the 40-60 cm layer),marsh meadow and meadow soils;whereas those related to Candidatus Solibacter originated from 40-60 cm layer of marsh soil.The majority of denitrifying bacterium sequences related to Candidatus Solibacter and Anaeromyxobacter were from marsh and meadow soils;whereas those related to Herbaspirillum originated from meadow soil.The distribution of operational taxonomic units(OTUs)and species were correlated with soil type based upon Venn and Principal Coordinates Analysis(PCoA).Changes in soil type,caused by different water regimes were the most important factors influencing compositional changes in the nitrogen-fixing,ammonia-oxidizing,and denitrifying microbial communities.

Research Status, Problems and Direction of Soil Organic Carbon in Zoige Peat Wetland

Peatlands,as a special type of wetland,occupy only 3%of the Earth’s surface,but bear about one-third of the world’s soil carbon storage and play an important role in the global carbon cycle.The Zoige Wetland is located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,and its peat reserves are up to 1.9 billion tons,accounting for more than 40%of the country’s peat resources,which is an important support for China to achieve the“double carbon”goal.This paper reviews the research status and storage estimation of soil organic carbon in Zoige Wetland.The statistical results show that there is a large difference in the estimation of carbon storage in the peatland of Zoige(0.43-1.42 Pg).The reasons are mainly related to marked differences in values reported for soil densities,organic carbon levels,and accu­mulation rates.There are still great uncertainties in the estimation of wetland carbon stocks,and future studies should focus on reducing soil carbon sink uncertainties,climate change,the impact of permafrost melting on carbon sink functions,the impact of degraded ecosystem restoration and sink enhancement pathways,and other greenhouse gas functions.In order to accurately reveal the current situation and future trend of carbon sink in peat wetlands,a model-multi-source observation data fusion system was constructed to complement the observation shortcomings in key ar­eas,and provide reference and support for the construction of carbon neutral ecological civilization.

Quantifying land degradation in the Zoige Basin,NE Tibetan Plateau using satellite remote sensing data

Considerable efforts have been dedicated to desertification research in the arid and semi-arid drylands of central Asia. However,there are few quantitative studies in conjunction with proper qualitative evaluation concerning land degradation and aeolian activity in the alpine realm. In this study,spectral information from two Landsat-5 TM scenes(04.08.1994 and 28.07.2009,respectively) was combined with reference information obtained in the field to run supervised classifications of eight landscape types for both time steps. Subsequently,the temporal and spatial patterns of the alpine wetlands/grasslands evolutions in the Zoige Basin were quantified and assessed based on these two classification maps. The most conspicuous change is the sharp increase of ~627 km^2 degraded meadow. Concerning other land-covers,shallow wetland increases ~107 km^2 and aeolian sediments(mobile dunes and sand sheets) have an increase of ~30 km^2. Considering the deterioration,an obvious decrease of ~440 km^2 degraded wetland can be observed. Likewise,decrease of deep wetland(~78 km^2),humid meadow(~80 km^2) and undisturbed meadow(~88 km^2) were determined. These entire evolution matrixes undoubtedly hint a deteriorating tendency of the Zoige Basin ecosystem,which is characterized by significantly declined proportion of intact wetlands,meadow,rangeland and a considerable increase ofdegraded meadow and larger areas of mobile dunes. In particular,not only temporal alteration of the landcover categories,the spatial and topographical characteristics of the land degradation also deserves more attention. In the alpine rangelands,the higher terraces of the river channels along with their slopes are more liable to the degradation and desertification. This tendency has significantly impeded the nomadic and agriculture activities. The set of anthropozoogenic factors encompassing enclosures,overgrazing and trampling,rodent damaging and exceedingly ditching in the wetlands are assumed to be the main controlling mechanisms for the landscape degradation. A suite of strict protection policies is urgent and indispensable for self-regulation and restoration of the alpine meadow ecosystem. Controlling the size of livestock,less ditching in the rangeland,and the launching of a more strict nature reserve management by adjacent Ruoergai,Maqu and Hongyuan Counties would be practical and efficacious in achieving these objectives.

Macroinvertebrate distribution and aquatic ecology in the Ruoergai （Zoige） Wetland, the Yellow River source region

The Ruoergai （Zoige） Wetland, the largest plateau peatland in the world, is located in the Yellow River source region. The discharge of the Yellow River increases greatly after flowing through the Ruoergai Wetland. The aquatic ecosystem of the Ruoergai Wetland is crucial to the whole Yellow River basin. The Ruoergai wetland has three main kinds of water bodies： rivers, oxbow lakes, and marsh wetlands. In this study, macro- invertebrates were used as indicators to assess the aquatic ecological status because their assemblage structures indicate long-term changes in environments with high sensitivity. Field investigations were conducted in July, 2012 and in July, 2013. A total of 72 taxa of macroinvertebrates belonging to 35 families and 67 genera were sampled and identified. Insecta was the dominant group in the Ruoergai Basin. The alpha diversity of macroinvertebrates at any single sampling site was low, while the alpha diversity on a basin-wide scale was much higher. Macroinvertebrate assemblages in rivers, oxbow lakes, and marsh wetlands differ markedly. Hydrological connectivity was a primary factor causing the variance of the bio-community. The river channels had the highest alpha diversity of macroinvertebrates, followed by marsh wetlands and oxbow lakes. The density and biomass of Gastropoda, collector filterers, and scrapers increased from rivers to oxbow lakes and then to marsh wetlands. The fiver ecology was particular in the Ruoergai Wetland with the high beta diversity ofmacroinvertebrates, the low alpha diversity of macroinvertebrates, and the low taxa richness, density, and biomass of EPT （Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera）. To maintain high alpha diversity of macro-invertebrates in the Ruoergai Wetland, moderate connec- tivity of oxbow lakes and marsh wetlands with rivers and measures to control headwater erosion are both crucial.

若尔盖高寒湿地空间分布及景观格局动态研究

若尔盖地区拥有全球面积最大的高寒泥炭沼泽湿地。基于30 m全球地表覆盖数据集,利用Arcgis和Fragstats软件对2000年、2010年和2020年若尔盖地区的湿地面积变化、空间分布及景观格局变化进行分析。结果表明:若尔盖地区湿地主要集中在四川若尔盖县,四川范围内3个时期湿地面积分别占各个时期研究区湿地面积的84.97%、78.33%和77.43%;湿地面积在2000-2020年呈缓慢增长趋势,湿地面积增加559.68 km^(2) ,其中甘肃地区湿地增加面积为423.23 km^(2) ,增长区域主要集中在甘肃玛曲县黄河左侧区域和四川阿坝县曼泽塘区域;地表覆盖变化趋势是以草地转化为湿地(水体)类别为主,变化面积为844.92 km^(2);湿地景观破碎化程度有所减缓,在2000-2010年降低了2.11,2010-2020年降低0.65,湿地景观格局更加稳定。

若尔盖湿地土壤及水体重金属分布特征及健康风险评价

若尔盖湿地属典型的高寒湿地生态系统,是我国青藏高原生态屏障的重要组成部分.青藏高原地区重金属监测多集中在青藏高原西南部,针对若尔盖湿地重金属分布特征、污染来源及潜在人体健康风险尚未完全清楚.于2022年7月采集湿地土壤(退化湿地和未退化湿地)及地表水水样,分别对4种重金属(Cr、As、Cd和Pd)进行分析,阐述其浓度分布特征,并进行人体健康风险评估.结果表明:Cr、As、Cd和Pd在未退化湿地和退化湿地的浓度(mgkg-1)分别为6.23~26.19、2.06~45.00、0.01~0.63和1.32~10.87,7.56~23.56、5.10~21.87、0.01~0.43和2.16~11.13.参照《土壤环境质量——农用地土壤污染风险管控标准》,Cr、Pd、Cd和As达标率为100%、88%、94.4%、80%;地表水中Cd未检出,Cr、As和Pd浓度(μg·L-1)分别为0.04~1.14、0.15~23.77和0.01~0.94,符合国家地表水质量Ⅰ类标准.参照美国环保署(USEPA)和国际辐射防护委员(ICRP)标准,若尔盖湿地土壤总非致癌风险指数(HI)均小于1;总致癌风险(TCR)范围为2.53×10^(-6)~1.20×10^(-4),均在可接受致癌健康风险水平10-6~10-4数量级范围内;地表水中总健康风险指数(R)为1.97×10^(-6)~2.01×10^(-4),人体最大可接受风险水平为5.0×10^(-5),其中,21.4%地表水样品超过健康风险水平.As是导致健康风险的主导因子.研究结果可补充若尔盖地区环境背景值的基础数据库,为该地污染防治及环境质量改善提供一定的数据支撑.

若尔盖湿地水文连通及重要湿地斑块变化

湿地水文连通对维持及修复湿地生态系统结构及功能有重要意义。近年来,若尔盖湿地发生不同程度的退化,其水文连通也发生显著变化。为量化若尔盖湿地水文连通变化并识别重要湿地斑块,基于1977—2020年若尔盖Landsat遥感影像,利用监督分类法对若尔盖湿地斑块进行提取并分析了其面积变化;采用基于图论的景观连通度指数分析了若尔盖湿地1977—2020年水文连通动态变化,并采用重要性指数对重要斑块进行识别。结果表明,1977—2016年若尔盖湿地面积从2660.50减少到2378.53 km^(2),降幅为10.60%;2016—2020年若尔盖湿地面积逐渐恢复,2020年湿地面积已恢复至1977年的90.78%。若尔盖湿地结构和功能连通性随时间变化呈现先下降后上升的趋势。2016年若尔盖湿地结构和功能连通性分别为1977年的65.51%和60.73%,2020年恢复到1977年的70.23%和72.39%。若尔盖高重要性的湿地斑块主要位于现有保护地内,目前开展的湿地保护修复措施对恢复湿地水文连通性具有重要作用。

若尔盖草原湿地狼巢址选择

若尔盖草原湿地位于青藏高原东缘,其生态功能重要、生态系统脆弱。狼作为区域中的大型食肉动物,在维持生态系统稳定中起关键作用。但目前高寒草原湿地的狼巢穴选址特征尚不明确,严重限制了该区域保护策略的制定。本研究于2022年8月至2023年5月通过样线法和红外相机调查记录到50个狼巢穴分布点,并使用逻辑斯蒂回归模型分析了影响狼巢址选择的关键因子。结果表明,狼更偏好选择在上坡或台地及山顶或高岭、坡度更陡、TRI(地形崎岖度指数)和粗糙度高的区域、距建筑物近但远离农田的区域及远离沼泽和永久水体的区域建立巢穴。各类变量中,坡向30 m分辨率、TPI(地形位置指数)(93-183)、距建筑物距离、距农田距离、距永久水体距离、距裸地距离、距裸地距离平方以及距草地距离等8个变量的重要性最高。与生活在森林和草原生态系统中的狼相比,若尔盖草原湿地的狼在巢址选择上具有一定的独特性。本研究丰富了对狼巢址选择行为的理解,也为若尔盖草原湿地狼繁殖期栖息地的保护管理提供了科学依据。

1991—2020年若尔盖湿地景观格局演变分析

湿地是地球上最具生态功能的生态系统之一,在保持水土、调节气候、保护物种多样性方面发挥着重要作用。笔者以若尔盖湿地为研究对象,1991-2020年Landsat影像为研究数据,基于最大似然法提取湿地信息,后利用计算得到的景观格局指数以及景观组分面积转移矩阵对若尔盖湿地的景观格局进行演变分析。研究表明:①受研究区特殊的地势条件影响,研究区的湿地分布存在明显的空间差异。大面积的泥炭沼泽湿地分布在地势低洼的若尔盖县、玛曲县的东部以及红原县的北部区域。研究区东部的湿地呈上升的趋势,而西部即靠近玛曲县东部的区域湿地面积明显下降。②1991—2020年研究区的湿地面积变化呈先减小后增大再缓慢下降的趋势,湿地总体面积下降20855.69 hm^(2)。1991-2020年研究区湿地景观破碎度呈先减小后增大的趋势,但总体景观破碎度呈上升。总体来看湿地景观破碎度变化较小,若尔盖湿地总体景观格局未发生太大变化。③研究区核心景观基质为草甸,景观组分的变化趋势是其他组分先一定面积转化为草甸后又小幅度恢复,在草本沼泽的面积变化上表现较为突出。④气温升高降水量下降以及人类活动的干扰加速了若尔盖湿地由河流→湖泊→泥炭沼泽→草本沼泽→草甸→裸地发展方向演变。若尔盖湿地的退化并不是一个简单的自然过程,而是在自然因素与人为因素共同作用下反馈的结果。

Diversity of methanotrophs in Zoige wetland soils under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions

Zoige wetland is one of the most important methane emission centers in China. The oxidation of methane in the wetland affects global warming, soil ecology and atmospheric chemistry. Despite their global significance, microorganisms that consume methane in Zoige wetland remain poorly characterized. In this study, we investigated methanotrophs diversity in soil samples from both anaerobic site and aerobic site in Zoige wetland using pmoA gene as a molecular marker. The cloning library was constructed according to the pmoA sequences detected. Four clusters of methanotrophs were detected. The phylogenetic tree showed that all four clusters detected were affiliated to type I methanotrophs. Two novel clusters （cluster 1, cluster 2） were found to relate to none of the recognized genera of methanotrophs. These clusters have no cultured representatives and reveal an ecological adaptation of particular uncultured methanotrophs in Zoige wetland. Two clusters were belonging to Methylobacter and Methylococcus separately. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis gel bands pattern retrieved from these two samples revealed that the community compositions of anaerobic soil and aerobic soil were different from each other while anaerobic soil showed a higher metanotrophs diversity. Real-time PCR assays of the two samples demonstrated that aerobic soil sample in Zoige wetland was 1.5 times as much copy numbers as anaerobic soil. These data illustrated that methanotrophs are a group of microorganisms influence the methane consumption in Zoige wetland.

Evaluation of Ecosystem Services Value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve by Multiple Criteria

Understanding the value of ecosystem services is useful for the decision making and sustainable management of the wetlands. It would be better to integrate ecological, economic and social factors into ecosystem service valuation. The general value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve in the southwest China by integrating a social welfare weight, which is determined by a three-level analytic hierarchy process, was calculated. Through analyzing the functions, stakeholders and ecosystem services of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve, the six main services, including substance production, flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation, recreation, and biodiversity conservation,were selected; and a three-level hierarchical structure model was established. The top(goal) level of the model refers to the total ecosystem services value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve, the middle level(stakeholder level) refers to stakeholders at different scales, and the bottom level(service level) refers to individual services provided by the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve. The results indicated that the ecosystem services value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve was 320.38×10~8yuan RMB in 2011. If including the social welfare, the value increased to 2258.68×10~8yuan RMB. The value of biodiversity conservation accounted for the largest proportion, which were 53% without the social welfare and 75% with it. And without the social welfare, flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve accounted for 26%, 11% and 8% of the total value, while the proportion that substance production and recreation values were of the total value were very small. Meanwhile, with the social weight,flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation, recreation of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve accounted for 10%,13%, 1% and 1% of the total value, then the weight of substance production value was also the smallest.

若尔盖高寒泥炭湿地土壤有机碳研究进展

若尔盖高寒泥炭湿地位于青藏高原东北部,初步估算其泥炭资源总量高达20亿t,占全国泥炭资源量的比例超过40%,是我国重要的湿地生态系统,是我国实现“双碳”目标的重要支撑。本文通过对近年来若尔盖高寒泥炭湿地土壤有机碳研究进行综述,探讨了土壤有机碳的来源、分布特征和转化等方面的研究进展,并分析了当前研究中存在的问题和展望未来研究趋势。目前对于若尔盖高寒泥炭湿地土壤有机碳的研究仍存在数据不足和研究不深入等问题,未来需要加强多学科交叉合作,推动若尔盖高寒泥炭湿地土壤有机碳研究的创新发展。

基于^(31)P核磁共振探究退化高寒湿地土壤磷素演变特征及影响因素

探明高寒湿地不同退化程度土壤磷素组成特征及其形态演变的驱动机制对于湿地生态恢复过程中养分和碳汇的科学管理具有重要意义。以若尔盖自然保护区内相对原生沼泽(RPM)、轻度退化沼泽(LDM)、中度退化沼泽(MDM)、重度退化沼泽(HDM)为对象,采用液相31P核磁共振波谱技术、分段式结构方程模型研究了高寒湿地退化过程中土壤磷素演变特征及主要影响因素。结果表明,高寒湿地退化导致植物群落组成由湿生向中生演替,土壤有机质与氮含量降低。正磷酸盐和磷酸单酯含量随湿地退化呈先增加后降低的趋势,其中正磷酸盐在HDM中相较于RPM降低46.45%,磷酸单酯在LDM、MDM和HDM中相较于RPM分别增加27.02%、54.96%和41.74%;焦磷酸盐和磷酸二酯含量随湿地退化逐渐降低。分段式结构方程模型的拟合结果显示,植被生物量、土壤养分和微生物活性是影响湿地土壤磷素演变的主要因素,其中微生物活性是正磷酸盐、焦磷酸盐和磷酸二酯的正向影响因子,是磷酸单酯的负向影响因子,植物生物量是正磷酸盐和磷酸二酯的正向影响因子,土壤养分虽对各形态磷没有直接影响,但可通过调控微生物活性间接影响焦磷酸盐和磷酸二酯含量。综上所述,湿地退化通过改变植物群落组成、降低土壤养分含量和微生物活性,促进了土壤磷酸二酯分解;重度退化湿地土壤磷有效性因磷酸单酯矿化能力减弱、正磷酸盐含量降低而减小。

近40年来若尔盖高原高寒湿地景观格局变化

基于Apack软件,通过选取景观面积指数、景观多样性指数和景观破碎化指数等景观格局指数,从景观水平上研究了近40a来若尔盖高原高寒湿地景观空间分布格局特征的动态变化过程。结果表明:(1)高寒湿地景观空间格局以自然湿地景观为主要特征,自然湿地景观的斑块数和平均斑块面积均明显高于人工湿地景观。沼泽湿地景观斑块数最多,面积最大,所占比例高于95%;(2)高寒湿地景观具有高度的空间异质性。若尔盖县湿地景观的面积最大,占该区湿地景观总面积的近50%,湿地率也居五县之首;红原县和玛曲县次之;阿坝县和碌曲县最小;(3)高寒湿地景观面积呈先减少后增加的变化趋势。但与20世纪60年代相比,2000年湿地景观面积仍呈萎缩状态,总面积减少59857.83hm2;(4)近40a来,若尔盖高原湿地景观呈集中连片分布,聚集度均高于0.95;优势度水平较高,但多样性指数水平较低。湿地景观的斑块数呈先下降后持平的变化趋势,而平均斑块面积则表现为增加的变化趋势;湿地景观分布质心也发生了明显的空间位移,经历了先向西北方向偏移12.54km;再向东南方向偏移了11.33km;最后又向北偏移了1.1km。