Distribution pattern simulation of multiple emergent plants in river riparian zones

Abstract

Emergent plants in river riparian zones (RRZs) are an important part of the river ecosystem, and the evolution of their spatial distribution patterns is a direct indicator of the health of river ecosystems. In previous studies, the simulation of the spatiotemporal pattern evolution process for emergent plants mainly focused on the overall pattern change of emergent plant communities. However, they did not distinguish the types of emergent plants and ignored the differences in response of different emergent plants to environmental changes. The difference in the competitiveness of different emergent plants will affect the distribution of emergent plants. In this research, the transformation rules of five emergent plants under different water levels were determined, and the Cellular Automata model was constructed to dynamically simulate the proliferation of emergent plants in RRZs. The results showed that when the water level was 11.5 m, the total area of emergent plants reached the maximum, and among the five emergent plants, Phragmites australis was the dominant species. When the water level dropped to 12.5 m, the shallow water area in the east of the riverside zone increased, and P. australis expanded rapidly in the east. By dynamically simulating the distribution of emergent plants in RRZs, the distribution status of the emergent plants in RRZs in the future can be obtained. It is of great significance for biodiversity conservation and resource management in riparian zones.

Advances in regulated river research in China

“…Sustaining the growth of aquatic organisms is a basic objective for river management. Qin et al (2021) determined the transformation rules of five emergent plants species under different water levels and adopted a Cellular Automata model to dynamically simulate the distribution of emergent plants. This paper has the potential to contribute to biodiversity conservation and resource management in riparian zones.…”

Soil moisture and pH differentially drive arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal composition in the riparian zone along an alpine river of Nam Co watershed

“…For example, riparian soils intercept water resources and nutrients in rivers by regulating plant resource acquisition, soil conservation, and microbial fixation or slowly release downstream through hydrological processes, thereby forming natural nutrient and water gradients (Mitsch and Gosselink, 2000). Nevertheless, most of the current research on riparian zones has focused on the above-ground plant community composition and their distribution patterns (Acker et al, 2003;Bosompemaa et al, 2021;Qin et al, 2021). This unique natural environment also provides suitable conditions for microbial biogeography research and helps answer fundamental scientific questions in microbial ecology, such as the spatial distribution pattern of microbial communities and their maintaining mechanism.…”