Continuous measurement of the depth of water table (inundation) in wetlands with fluctuating surfaces

Assessment of the water table in compressible and/or floating peatland mats requires a remote sensor that can measure simultaneously the elevation of the peat surface and the water level. A simple device, comprising two potentiometers, a float and ‘bog shoe’ was used to measure the water level and peat surface witin 0-3 mm. The water table (depth of water level relative to the peat surface) was then calculated.     

鄱阳湖湿地生态功能重要性分区

在分析鄱阳湖湿地自然环境特征和湿地生态系统服务功能特征基础上,利用GIs技术,对鄱阳湖湿地范围进行界定,湿地面积为3886km2.基于湿地生态环境保护和社会经济发展总体要求,按照生态功能区划原理,对湿地进行生态功能重要性分区研究.根据湿地生态功能重要性评价结果将湿地分为极重要区、高度重要区、重要区、一般重要区四个区域,...     

Quantitative assessment on basin-scale hydrological services of wetlands

Despite recognizing the importance of hydrological function of wetlands, basin-scale wetlands services have rarely been investigated. The PHYSITEL/HYDROTEL modelling platform was used to quantitatively assess the impact of wetlands on quickflow and baseflow with paired simulation scenarios in Duobukuli River Basin, namely with wetlands and without wetlands.Simulation results showed that wetlands exert significant impact on basin hydrological processes by decreasing streamflow and altering streamflow regime(magnitude, frequency, duration and time of flow events). The intensity(significant or not) of wetlands influences on quickflow had daily, monthly and annual variation. Wetlands significantly attenuated quickflow during flood season while slightly support daily, monthly and annual baseflow. The average quickflow attenuation and baseflow support of wetlands were 5.89% and 0.83%, respectively. Although the intensity and effect(mitigation or augment) of wetlands on streamflow temporally varied at daily, monthly, seasonal and annual scales, wetland overall mitigated quickflow and augment baseflow in Duobukuli River Basin. Our results could provide insights for future decision-making for rehabilitation and conservation of wetlands as well as integrated basin water resources management.     

Determination of groundwater flow-through regimes of shallow lakes and wetlands from numerical analysis of stable isotope and chloride tracer distribution patterns

A numerical model previously developed to systematically examine groundwater flow in vertical section near shallow surface water bodies such as lakes, wetlands and ponds is further developed to include simulation of the distribution patterns of hydrogeochemical and stable isotopic tracers in relation to the surface water body and the geometry of distribution patterns of the tracers in the groundwater release zone of the lake. Many different possible flow regimes are identified, however, in this paper attention is focused on flow-through water bodies, as these are the flow regimes observed in field validation. Two shallow lakes on the Swan Coastal Plain of south-west Western Australia are the subject of field studies where hydrogeochemical and stable isotopes are used to validate the flow-through groundwater flow regime predicted by the modelling confirming the validity of the approach. The flow regime transition diagrams introduced in earlier papers are extended to include consideration of the hydrogeochemical and stable isotopic indices Cl_L/Cl₊ and (1000+δ_L)/(1000+δ₊). These ratios are introduced as an additional two of nine non-dimensional ratios that are necessary to analyse the problem. The ratios represent the chloride and isotopic composition (Cl_L and δ_L), respectively, in the groundwater release zones of the lakes, relative to these parameters in the groundwater capture zone (Cl₊ and δ₊) for the lake. Field data from the case studies plotted on appropriately configured transition diagrams demonstrates the overall validity of the modelling approach and its underlying assumptions. It is concluded that isotopic and hydrogeochemical data are invaluable in interpreting the interaction between lakes or wetlands and regional aquifers as it is very difficult to make physical or hydraulic measurements in the field that allow an understanding of lake–aquifer interaction. The tools and concepts developed that are summarized in the presented transition diagrams are invaluable starting points for the consideration and analysis of other case-specific examples of groundwater–surface water interaction and will improve the scientific basis of decision-making concerning lake and wetland management and groundwater interaction by water resource and environmental managers.     

New mapping techniques to estimate the preferential loss of small wetlands on prairie landscapes

Reliable estimates of wetland loss require improved wetland inventories and effective monitoring programmes. The Prairie Pothole Region of North America is experiencing rapid urban, agricultural and economic development, which places wetlands at risk, especially small geographically isolated wetlands. This loss is concomitant with a loss of ecosystem services. To improve upon current wetland inventories, a method for mapping wetlands using an automated object‐based approach was developed for a regional watershed in Alberta. The method improves upon existing wetland mapping methods by effectively mapping small wetlands and better capturing the convolution of wetland edges. This approach uses digital terrain objects derived from light detection and ranging data, from which 130 157 wetlands were identified. Wetland loss estimates (% number and % area) were obtained by applying a wetland area versus frequency power‐law function to the wetland inventory. We estimated a 16.2% historic loss of wetland number and a 2.6% loss of wetland area, with the size of these lost wetlands <0.04 ha. The improved techniques for mapping wetland loss and estimating wetland loss provide a more accurate representation of the magnitude of wetland loss in the Prairie Pothole Region. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controls on the transition from meandering to straight channels in the wetlands of the Okavango Delta,Botswana

Previous studies of alluvial rivers have shown that channel patterns form a continuum controlled by interactions among factors such as gradient, discharge, sediment size, and bank strength. Data from channels in the permanent wetlands of the Okavango Delta add to these ?ndings by focusing on pattern transitions in channels with banks formed by sedges and grasses that are rooted in peat and underlain by unconsolidated sediment. Channels are well de?ned, and transport ?ne–medium sand as bedload between the vertical, vegetation‐lined banks. Water depths, velocities, grain sizes, and bankline vegetation do not vary signi?cantly or systematically downstream, but the permeable banks allow water to leak from the channels, contributing to an overall downstream decrease in discharge and width. In addition, as the Okavango River ?ows from the <12 km wide ‘Panhandle’ and splits into distributaries in the broader ‘Fan’, valley gradient steepens by c. 60 per cent. These downstream changes result in channel pattern adjustments. In the Panhandle, the Okavango River is a relatively wide (c. 30–100 m), actively meandering, sinuous channel (P > 2·0), but further downstream in the Fan, the narrower (<40 m) distributaries follow laterally stable, less sinuous (‘straight’) courses (P < 1·75). Some channel pattern discrimination diagrams based on simple indices of gradient, discharge, sediment size or stream power are inadequate for analysing the meandering–straight transition in the Okavango but Parker's (1976) approach, based on ratios of depth–width and slope–Froude number, accurately characterizes the transition. Our ?eld observations, combined with the results from previous experimental studies, suggest that in relatively wide channels (w/d > 10), thalweg meandering results in scour of the unconsolidated sediment at the bank base, leading to undermining and collapse of the vegetation, and to slow meander migration. However, as channels narrow downstream (w/d < 10) with discharge losses, proportionally increasing sidewall drag exerted by bankline vegetation suppresses thalweg meandering and bank scour, and channels follow stable, less sinuous courses. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrodynamics of floodplain wetlands in a chalk catchment: The River Lambourn, UK

Variations in floodplain channel water levels and valley floor groundwater levels (measured in piezometers and boreholes) are examined at selected points along the course of the River Lambourn, a chalk river in southern England. A local alluvial gravel aquifer in the valley bottom is associated with numerous small wetlands that extend over much of the river's perennial profile. Variations in hydraulic gradient between local borehole levels and/or floodplain channel water levels are described for three sites in the seasonal section of the channel at Bockhampton, East Garston and West Shefford. The results indicate that observed groundwater levels are closely associated with flows from discrete springs at the margins of the channel and floodplain. However, as the floodplain widens and the alluvial gravel aquifer increases in size, the gravel aquifer accounts for a substantial down-valley component of groundwater flow with a diffuse vertical water flux. In the lower catchment, the exchange of flows between the gravel aquifer and the river enables some attenuation of floodplain water-table variability, providing a stable hydrological regime for valley-bottom wetlands. Catchment controls upon the local, valley-bottom, wetland regime are demonstrated with the application of a simple groundwater model developed using MODFLOW. The model is used to simulate groundwater discharge to the river in the upper and lower catchment, in addition to the water level regime at selected points in the valley bottom in the lower catchment. The results demonstrate the importance of taking catchment-scale water flow into account when managing isolated wetlands in a permeable catchment.     

Using an integrated model to track the fate and transport of suspended solids and heavy metals in the tidal wetlands

An integrated two-dimensional depth-average numerical model was developed to simulate hydrodynamics and to track the fate and transport of contaminants in the Erh-Chung Flood Way wetland in northem Tai...     

新疆艾比湖湿地土壤水盐空间变异性分析

为揭示艾比湖湿地土壤退化程度空间分布特征,在离艾比湖湖滨5~15 km,绕湖一周160 km范围内,以湖心质点为中心,将艾比湖划分为东北、东南、西南、西北4个区域,采用传统统计学和地统计学相结合的方法对表层(0~20 cm)土壤盐分、含水量与p H的空间分异特征进行研究.结果表明:绕湖一周不同区域的土壤盐分均属中等变异强度;土壤含水量在西北部属强变异性,而东北、东南和西南部均属中等变异强度;土壤p H在不同区域内均属弱变异强度.绕湖一周除西北部土壤盐分的半方差理论模型较符合球状模型外,其它区域土壤盐分、含水量和p H均符合高斯模型;受结构性因素影响,不同区域土壤盐分、含水量和p H均具有较强的空间相关性;西南部土壤盐分、含水量和p H的Moran's I系数比其它区域的波动大,表明空间相关性较强.艾比湖湿地常年大风、干旱、缺水及沙化盐化的自然因素与引水围堰、种植耐盐碱植物的人为活动造成了采样区表层土壤盐分、含水量和p H的空间分布多呈现不规则条带状格局.艾比湖湿地土壤以盐土为主,重度盐化土次之,土壤盐渍化日益严重.     

人工湿地研究现状与展望

自1950s开始系统性研究以来,人工湿地研究日趋深入,也得到了广泛的应用.本文基于文献报道,对人工湿地研究的历程特别是我国的研究进行了分析,分为起步探索、迅猛发展和规范应用三个阶段.梳理了人工湿地的研究现状,主要集中在如何提高脱氮除磷效率、对新兴污染物的去除、人工湿地根区微生物结构与功能以及人工湿地模型四个方面.核心还是提高人工湿地对污染物的去除效率并解释其机理.未来需要长期监测数据支撑的理论实践结合的设计规程;进一步揭示人工湿地的生物过程;建立合理简化的模型,对系统进行准确预测.     

Channels,wetlands and islands in the Okavango Delta,Botswana, and their relation to hydrological and sedimentological processes

The Okavango wetland in northern Botswana is one of the world's largest inland deltas. The delta is a dynamic environment with shifting channel routes, causing growth and decay of ?anking wetlands, and giving birth to islands. Primary island nuclei are formed by ?uvial processes and bioengineering, and subsequently grow into secondary larger islands of irregular shape by clastic and chemical sedimentation, and later by coalescence. This article presents classi?cations and quantitative estimations of channels, wetlands and islands of the Okavango Delta. Islands were classi?ed dependent on composition, pattern of composition, shape and juxtaposition. 90 per cent of all islands in the entire wetland were identi?ed, with a classi?cation accuracy of 60 to 85 per cent. Smaller islands of the nucleus types dominate the upper parts of the delta, whereas larger secondary islands are more common in the distal part, a re?ection of the age of the islands. Islands in the entry valley of the delta, the Panhandle, are larger in the top end – the primary region of recent clastic sedimentation. The overall size distribution of islands in the delta, however, shows no clumps, indicating that island growth is a uniform process over time and space. The total area ?ooded at least every decade is approximately 14 000 km², of which 9000 km² is classi?ed as actual wetland. Channel meandering decreases from the Panhandle to the distal part of the delta, with the abandoned Thaoge channel as an exception. Occurrence of ?uvially formed islands in the distal delta indicates that the water ?ow and area of inundation must once have been much larger. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

长江中下游安庆沿江湖泊湿地夏季鸟类多样性调查

湖泊湿地是鸟类的重要栖息地,湖泊湿地鸟类是湖泊生态系统重要的监测生物,湖泊湿地鸟类多样性及其影响因素的研究对湿地管理具有重要意义.2011年7-8月,采用样线法对长江中下游安庆沿江7个湖泊湿地的夏季鸟类资源进行了调查,以期为湖泊湿地资源管理提供依据.共记录到安庆沿江湖泊湿地鸟类14目35科82种,其中留鸟27种(占32.9%),夏候鸟37种(占45.1%);水鸟28种(占34.6%);肉食性、食虫和杂食性鸟类占多数,分别占30.5%、30.5%和23.2%;须浮鸥、夜鹭、丝光椋鸟、黑脸噪鹛、树麻雀、家燕等6种鸟类为优势种.物种数以黄大湖最高(50种),白荡湖和破罡湖最低(各28种);Shannon-Wiener指数以黄大湖最高(2.123),白荡湖最低(1.918);均匀度指数以龙感湖最高(0.865),菜子湖最低(0.739).进一步分析显示,鸟类物种数、多样性指数与湖泊面积呈显著正相关,鸟类物种数、多样性指数与干扰强度呈显著负相关.采取退田还湖、恢复湿地等途径增加湿地面积、生境类型和植被资源对于保护湖泊湿地的鸟类资源具有积极意义.     

The evolution of tidal creek networks,mary river,northern Australia

Tidal creek networks have in 50 years extended over 30 km inland across the coastal plains of the Mary River in northern Australia, invading freshwater wetlands and destroying the associated vegetation. The networks have grown at an exponential rate through a combination of main channel extension and tributary development, with concomitant widening of the creeks. A large tidal range, very small elevational differences over the plains, and the availability of preexisting channel lines (notably in the form of palaeochannels) have been major factors contributing to the rapid rate of expansion. Close parallels exist between these networks and terrestrial networks as regards modes of growth and planimetric properties. A channel is initiated when the diffuse flow of a seepage zone becomes concentrated through localized scour. Subsequent development is characterized by the rapid extension of long first-order channels, with most tributary addition occurring later. Model tests suggest that branching was more likely on exterior links in the early stages but that exterior and interior link branching became more equally likely through time. Although the headward limits of the main creeks seem to have been reached, tributary infilling will continue to progress upstream. Only in the most downstream parts is a stable drainage density being approached. The networks not only satisfy the laws of drainage network composition and the basic postulates of the random model but also depart from topologic randomness in similar ways to terrestrial networks. Both topologic and length properties have changed during evolution but largely at the link rather than network scale. The close correspondence with terrestrial networks may be due to the low relief and the relatively unconstrained nature of growth in which availability of space was the main determining factor.     

Bedrock erosion and relief production in the northern Flinders Ranges,Australia

Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be concentrations in exposed bedrock surfaces and alluvial sediment in the northern Flinders Ranges reveal surprisingly high erosion rates for a supposedly ancient and stable landscape. Bedrock erosion rates increase with decreasing elevation in the Yudnamutana Catchment, from summit surfaces (13·96 ± 1·29 and 14·38 ± 1·40 m Myr^?1), to hillslopes (17·61 ± 2·21 to 29·24 ± 4·38 m Myr^?1), to valley bottoms (53·19 ± 7·26 to 227·95 ± 21·39 m Myr^?1), indicating late Quaternary increases to topographic relief. Minimum cliff retreat rates (9·30 ± 3·60 to 24·54 ± 8·53 m Myr^?1) indicate that even the most resistant parts of cliff faces have undergone significant late Quaternary erosion. However, erosion rates from visibly weathered and varnished tors protruding from steep bedrock hillslopes (4·17 ± 0·42 to 14·00 ± 1·97 m Myr^?1) indicate that bedrock may locally weather at rates equivalent to, or even slower than, summit surfaces. ¹⁰Be concentrations in contemporary alluvial sediment indicate catchment‐averaged erosion at a rate dominated by more rapid erosion (22·79 ± 2·78 m Myr^?1), consistent with an average rate from individual hillslope point measurements. Late Cenozoic relief production in the Yudnamutana Catchment resulted from (1) tectonic uplift at rates of 30–160 m Myr^?1 due to range‐front reverse faulting, which maintained steep river gradients and uplifted summit surfaces, and (2) climate change, which episodically increased both in situ bedrock weathering rates and frequency–magnitude distributions of large magnitude floods, leading to increased incision rates. These results provide quantitative evidence that the Australian landscape is, in places, considerably more dynamic than commonly perceived. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内蒙古乌兰泡湿地环带状植被区土壤有机质及全氮空间分异规律

本文以乌兰泡湿地为研究对象,对该区环带状植被区湿地土壤有机质有全氮的空间分布规律进行了初步研究,结果表明不同植被区养发含量分异趋势一致,但水平分异显著,沿土壤水分梯度变化而变化,表现为蓼区＞香蒲区＞芦苇区,反映出距泡心越远含量越低的规律;各植被区土壤碳氮比都相对较低（在5－12之间）,表层土壤碳氮经值也沿土吉水分梯度变化,表现为芦苇区＞香莆区＞蓼区;泡沼湿地土壤与草原土壤的碳氮比对水分条件及有机质和全氮的含量的响应差异显著;水分和植被是影响其水平分异的关键因子,而湿地土壤pH值并不是影响土壤有机质及全氮分异的主要因子。     

Fast responses of microbial plankton communities associated to regime shifts in vegetated wetlands (free-floating plants vs phytoplankton-dominance): An experimental cross-transplant approach

Vegetated wetlands are naturally subjected to changes in their water-level and macrophyte coverage leading to high habitat heterogeneity. The opportunistic ecological strategy of many planktic algae and bacteria makes them suitable for studying adaptive mechanisms to environmental change in wetlands at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study, we assessed the response of microbial aquatic organisms to sudden changes in habitat conditions, resulting from regime shifts involving the presence/absence of a dense floating-macrophyte cover, by means of a 72 h cross-transplant experiment using dialysis bags. Contrasting conditions imposed by the existing regime, such as light availability and dissolved oxygen concentration, accounted for the differences in phytoplankton and picoplankton compositions. Communities newly exposed to improved light and oxygen conditions exhibited a short-term (hours) response of C-strategists algae, such as small flagellated chrysophyceans. The onset of oxygen depletion and light impoverishment favoured the development of anaerobic anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria (AnAnPB) and low-light adapted S-strategists (thin filamentous oscillatoriales) algae in few days. These results provide in-field evidence that phytoplankton and picoplankton assemblages are highly sensitive to environmental changes in a brief time scale, less than 72 h. Thus, these microbial organisms can act as sentinels to fluctuations in vegetated wetlands, also giving a quick response to sudden changes deriving from anthropogenic practices that impact on wetlands water-level and provoke fluctuations in their floating vegetation cover.     

土壤动物对鄱阳湖湿地冬季凋落物分解过程的影响

为了研究湿地土壤动物对凋落物分解速率以及对土壤养分归还的影响,于2017年11月份在鄱阳湖湿地收集苔草(Carex cinerascens)、南荻(Triarrhena lutarioriparia)和芦苇(Phragmites australis) 3种植物的凋落物,利用凋落物袋法开展原位的模拟实验研究中使用了网孔大小分别为4.5 mm(大)和0.1 mm(小)的分解袋来对比分析土壤动物的影响结果表明:不同物种之间凋落物分解速率有差异,苔草的分解速率显著大于南荻和芦苇,南荻与芦苇的分解速率差异不明显;凋落物的分解速率与凋落物总有机碳和总氮的积累量(NAI_TOC/NAI_TN)呈负相关,与残余凋落物质量呈负相关,与凋落物总磷含量呈正相关;凋落物总氮含量在不同物种凋落物中差异明显,表现为苔草>芦苇>南荻,并且与分解速率的大小关系相对应,因此高氮植物凋落物的分解速率较快;土壤动物能够提高分解速率,促进凋落物营养元素的释放,进而调节凋落物中C、N、P元素向土壤养分库的归还过程本研究将为湿地生态系统的营养元素循环研究提供科学数据.     

Hydraulic analysis of cell-network treatment wetlands

When individual cells of a multiple-cell treatment wetland are hydraulically connected, the wetland has a cell-network structure. The hydraulic performance of treatment wetlands is often characterized using tracer residence time distributions (RTDs) measured between the wetland inlet and outlet, such that the wetland is considered as a single hydraulic unit, regardless of the extent of networking between individual internal cells. This work extends the single hydraulic unit approach to enable the specification of moments and RTD parameters for individual cells, or clusters of cells, within the cell-network based on inert tracer tests with injection only at the network inlet. Hydraulic performance is quantified in terms of hydraulic efficiency and travel time dimensionless variance using both the method of moments and RTD modeling. Cell-network analysis was applied to a case study from the Orlando Easterly Wetland (OEW), demonstrating the improvement in hydraulic performance of individual wetland cells following wetland restoration activities. Furthermore, cell-network analysis indicated that the location of water quality sampling station locations within the cell network can significantly affect the accuracy of pollutant removal effectiveness estimation when the individual sample station RTD does not represent the hydraulic unit RTD. At the OEW, it was determined that historical nutrient removal effectiveness estimation may be underestimated for one area and overestimated for another, and recommendations were provided for sample station locations to minimize future performance estimation errors.