Application of fish index of biological integrity (FIBI) in the Sanmenxia Wetland with water quality implications

Long-term changes of fish biotic integrity in the Sanmenxia Wetland,North China,since the 1950 s were assessed using the fish index of biological integrity（FIBI）. The water and sediment quality was evaluated by the water quality index（WQI） and sediment pollution index（SPI）. The results showed that FIBI continuously decreased from 46 to 20 during the past 5 decades,which indicated that the fish community state shifted from fair to very poor conditions,and damming by itself did not affect the fish biotic integrity. At the same time,WQI fell from 83 to 44.1,and SPI increased from 0.99 to 2.14 since the 1960 s,resulting from fast regional socio-economic development and insufficient wastewater treatment. Correlation analysis suggested that water quality significantly affected biotic integrity（r = 0.867,p 〈 0.05） through direct effects on the fish community. As a representative example of many wetlands in North China,our study clearly demonstrated that the biological integrity was degraded,induced both by water quality deterioration and sediment pollution,further driven by the contradiction between rapid development of regional economy and lagging development of sewage treatment facilities,which were thought to be the main factor responsible for the degradation of biological integrity.     

Analysis of Sediment Retention in Western Riverine Wetlands: The Yampa River Watershed,Colorado, USA

We quantified annual sediment deposition, bank erosion, and sediment budgets in nine riverine wetlands that represented a watershed continuum for 1 year in the unregulated Yampa River drainage basin in Colorado. One site was studied for 2 years to compare responses to peak flow variability. Annual mean sediment deposition ranged from 0.01 kg/m² along a first-order subalpine stream to 21.8 kg/m² at a sixth-order alluvial forest. Annual mean riverbank erosion ranged from 3 kg/m-of-bank at the first-order site to 1000 kg/m at the 6^th-order site. Total sediment budgets were nearly balanced at six sites, while net export from bank erosion occurred at three sites. Both total sediment deposition (R² = 0.86, p < 0.01) and bank erosion (R² = 0.77, p < 0.01) were strongly related to bankfull height, and channel sinuosity and valley confinement helped to explain additional variability among sites. The texture and organic fraction of eroded and deposited sediment were relatively similar in most sites and varied among sites by watershed position. Our results indicate that bank erosion generally balances sediment deposition in riverine wetlands, and we found no distinct zones of sediment retention versus export on a watershed continuum. Zones of apparent disequilibrium can occur in unregulated rivers due to factors such as incised channels, beaver activity, and cattle grazing. A primary function of many western riverine wetlands is sediment exchange, not retention, which may operate by transforming materials and compounds in temporary sediment pools on floodplains. These results are considered in the context of the Hydrogeomorphic approach being implemented by the U.S. government for wetland resource management.     

Morphology of a Wetland Stream

/ Little attention has been paid to wetland stream morphology in the geomorphological and environmental literature, and in the recently expanding wetland reconstruction field, stream design has been based primarily on stream morphologies typical of nonwetland alluvial environments. Field investigation of a wetland reach of Roaring Brook, Stafford, Connecticut, USA, revealed several significant differences between the morphology of this stream and the typical morphology of nonwetland alluvial streams. Six morphological features of the study reach were examined: bankfull flow, meanders, pools and riffles, thalweg location, straight reaches, and cross-sectional shape. It was found that bankfull flow definitions originating from streams in nonwetland environments did not apply. Unusual features observed in the wetland reach include tight bends and a large axial wavelength to width ratio. A lengthy straight reach exists that exceeds what is typically found in nonwetland alluvial streams. The lack of convex bank point bars in the bends, a greater channel width at riffle locations, an unusual thalweg location, and small form ratios (a deep and narrow channel) were also differences identified. Further study is needed on wetland streams of various regions to determine if differences in morphology between alluvial and wetland environments can be applied in order to improve future designs of wetland channels.KEY WORDS: Stream morphology; Wetland restoration; Wetland creation; Bankfull; Pools and riffles; Meanders; Thalweg     

A rationale for coastal wetland restoration through spoil bank management in Louisiana,USA

The rationale and outline of an implementation plan for restoring coastal wetlands in Louisiana is presented. The rationale for the plan is based on reversing the consequences of documented cause-and-effect relationships between wetland loss and hydrologic change. The main feature is to modify the extensive interlocking network of dredged spoil deposits, or spoil banks, by reestablishing a more natural water flow at moderate flow velocity (<5 cm/sec). Guidelines for site selection from thousands of potential sites are proposed. Examples of suitable sites are given for intermediate marshes. These sites exhibit rapid deterioration following partial or complete hydrologic impoundment, implying a strong hydrologic, rather than sedimentological, cause of wetland deterioration. We used an exploratory hydrologic model to guide determination of the amount of spoil bank to be removed. The results from an economic model indicated a very effective cost-benefit ratio. Both models and practical experience with other types of restoration plans, in Louisiana and elsewhere, exhibit an economy of scale, wherein larger projects are more cost effective than smaller projects. However, in contrast to these other projects, spoil bank management may be 100 to 1000 times more cost effective and useful in wetland tracts <1000 ha in size. Modest spoil bank management at numerous small wetland sites appears to offer substantial positive attributes compared to alternative and more intensive management at a few larger wetland sites.     

A conceptual framework for assessing cumulative impacts on the hydrology of nontidal wetlands

Wetlands occur in geologic and hydrologic settings that enhance the accumulation or retention of water. Regional slope, local relief, and permeability of the land surface are major controls on the formation of wetlands by surface-water sources. However, these landscape features also have significant control over groundwater flow systems, which commonly play a role in the formation of wetlands. Because the hydrologic system is a continuum, any modification of one component will have an effect on contiguous components. Disturbances commonly affecting the hydrologic system as it relates to wetlands include weather modification, alteration of plant communities, storage of surface water, road construction, drainage of surface water and soil water, alteration of groundwater recharge and discharge areas, and pumping of groundwater. Assessments of the cumulative effects of one or more of these disturbances on the hydrologic system as related to wetlands must take into account uncertainty in the measurements and in the assumptions that are made in hydrologic studies. For example, it may be appropriate to assume that regional groundwater flow systems are recharged in uplands and discharged in lowlands. However, a similar assumption commonly does not apply on a local scale, because of the spatial and temporal dynamics of groundwater recharge. Lack of appreciation of such hydrologic factors can lead to misunderstanding of the hydrologic function of wetlands within various parts of the landscape and mismanagement of wetland ecosystems.     

长江口北支湿地资源和环境现状调查

调查了长江口支湿地环境现状，分析了评价长江口北支湿地的环境质量。指出，长江口北支湿地有着得天独厚的地理位置和自然条件，是世界范围内极具代表性十分重要的湿地，拥有丰富的水资源，动植物资源，滩涂资源等。近年来，由于长江上游河水质量下降，启东和海门经内河流向长江的城市生活污水，启东沿江建设的工业带，对北支口湿地环境质量产生了较大的影响。调查结果表明，长江口北支口水域主要污染物为COD，氨氮等，其污染程度呈现出以下规律：平水期（污染）＞丰水期（污染）＞枯水期（污染）。长江口北支区域陆地土壤中主要污染物为重金属元素镉，铅，锌以及滴滴涕，其中镉与滴滴涕达《土壤环境质量标准》（GB15618－1995）中三级标准，其他指标达一级标准。     

盐城市湿地园林建设初探

湿地园林是以湿地为对象的园林形式,为现代园林的一个组成部分,是利用现代园林建设和生态学原理,对湿地生态系统的保护、重建和恢复,艺术地再现自然湿地景现.在此,以湿地园林为研究对象,分析国内外湿地园林的发展概况,论述盐城市湿地园林建设的现状以及存在的问题,运用生态学和现代园林建设理论对盐城市湿地园林的建设进行初步的探索,较为详细的阐述其发展的规划目标以及建设的思路与对策,进一步强调湿地园林在建设城市大园林、改善生态环境方面的作用,并对湿地园林的未来进行展望.     

长江口九段沙湿地自然保护的探讨

九段沙是长江口新生沙岛，在调研其湿地生态环境和自然演变趋势基础上，尽快设立九段沙自然保护区已是各方共识，但对其而言，一方面已有大型工程的影响，另一方面滩地的冲蚀可能使高级群落－芦苇的分布面积减少，因此提出，在保护湿地初期建造，低堤不至于影响湿地的自然演变过程，而有利于保护高级群落和局部高潮滩的增速。     

鄱阳湖湿地管理对策研究

本文分析和研究了鄱阳湖湿地损失的原因和管理现状，提出了鄱阳湖湿地可持续发展的管理策略。     

西部湿地资源现状、问题及可持续发展研究——以四川省若尔盖高原湿地为例

湿地是水陆相互作用形成的独特生态系统,合理的开发利用将对西部开发中的生态环境建设直到巨大的作用。本文主要介绍我国西部湿地资源的基本情况、利用现状及存在问题,并以四川省若尔盖地区为例提出了西部湿地资源保护和可持续利用的科学对策。