Microtopographic modification conserves urban wetland water quality by increasing the dissolved oxygen in the wet season

Microtopography affects hydrological processes and forms different microhabitats.Our previous study uncovered that riparian zone microtopography created various microhabitats with different soil environments and runoff-infiltration patterns.However,how riparian microtopography and microtopography within the water area(waterfall and tributary)affects downstream water quality remains unclear.Therefore,water samples were taken almost monthly in both the main stream and the tributary,before and after waterfalls,and near the bottom of three microtopographic types from June 2016 to March 2017.Compared with the dry season,the fact that water quality worsened in the wet season and that there were positive correlations for nitrate(NO3-)between water and the corresponding soil samples suggested that the riparian-soil environment affected the adjacent water quality mainly in the wet season.Nevertheless,riparian microtopography did not influence water quality downstream because of the low rainfall frequency and the weak leaching process due to plant interception.In the wet season,both the tributary and the waterfall increased the dissolved oxygen in the water body and,therefore,lowered the risk of eutrophication.The tributary has two pathways for improving the water quality,by increased disturbance and flow velocity,while the waterfall only has the former.However,such effects were not significant in the dry season.We conclude that the application of microtopographic modification is useful in maintaining urban wetland water quality in wet seasons.

Land surface roughness impacted by typical vegetation restoration projects on aeolian sandy lands in the Yarlung Zangbo River valley,southern Tibetan plateau

Aeolian sandy lands are widespread and desertification is recognized as one of the main environmental issues in the Yarlung Zangbo River valley,southern Tibetan plateau.The surface microtopographic var-iations induced by the near soil surface characteristics of plant communities are important compositions of land surface roughness,which likely influence wind erosion.This study was conducted to quantify the effects of typical vegetation restoration on land surface roughness on the aeolian sandy lands,and to identify the main influencing factors of land surface roughness in the Yarlung Zangbo River valley.Two bare sandy lands(as controls)and eight vegetated sandy lands with different restoration communities and ages were selected,and land surface roughness(LSR),as represented by surface microtopographic variations in this study,was measured by photogrammetric surveys.The results showed that LSR significantly increased by 7.9-16.8 times after vegetation restoration on the aeolian sandy lands,and varied among different restoration communities and ages.The mostly restored communities of Sophora moorcroftiana and Populus L.had greater LSR as compared to Artemisia wellbyi and Hedysarum scoparium.With succession from 6 to over 30 years,LSR gradually increased in the Sophora moorcroftiana restored sandy lands,but decreased in the Populus L restored sandy lands.The variations of LSR were mainly attributed to the differences in near soil surface characteristics of vegetation(plant stem diameter and coverage,and plant residue density)and biological soil crusts(coverage and thickness).Mixed plantation of Populus L and Sophora moorcroftiana was considered as the best restoration communities because of their effectiveness in increasing land surface roughness on the aeolian sandy lands in the Yarlung Zangbo River valley.The results would facilitate the understanding of the benefits of vegetation restoration in controlling wind erosion on the aeolian sandy lands.