Arid Zone Research ›› 2019, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (5): 1186-1193.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2019.05.16

• Biological Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Change of Plant Diversity in the Taitema Lake Area before and after Implementing the Ecological Water Conveyance

WANG Ya-mei1, ZHANG Qing-qing1, XU Hai-liang2, ZHAO Xin-feng2, LIU Xing-hong1, LI Jin3   

  1. 1. Xinjiang Agricultural University,Urumqi 830052,Xinjiang,China;
    2. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Urumqi 830011,Xinjiang,China;
    3. Xinjiang Normal University,Urumqi 830054,Xinjiang,China
  • Received:2018-11-07 Revised:2019-04-10 Published:2025-10-14

Abstract: It is of great significance for regenerating the ecological environment in the lower reaches of the Tarim River to study the change of plant diversity in the Taitema Lake area before and after implementing the ecological water conveyance.Through the comprehensive research on the continuous data of vegetation in the Taitema Lake area during the preiod of 2000-2017,in this study the field investigation and data collection were carried,and the difference in vegetation variation between the overflow plots and the non-flood plots (i.e.the controlled plots) was compared.The results were as follows: ① With implementing the ecological water conveyance,the ecological benefits of the vegetation in the Taitema Lake area have gradually emerged,and the biodiversity has been increased significantly.In the flooded area,the average number of plant species per unit area,vegetation coverage and vegetation density were 6.8 number·(100m2)-1,30% and 1 350 number·(100m2)-1,and they were increased by 3,3.29 and 49 times of those in the regions where the groundwater level was risen only.Before implementing the ecological water conveyance,there were 7 plant species in 3 genera and 2 families in the lake area.After that they were increased to 26 species in 21 genera and 10 families;② After implementing the ecological water conveyance for 10 years,the vegetation in the Taitema Lake area was developed towards the salinized lowland meadow dominated by reeds and tended to be simplified.The vegetation evolution was characterized by that the newly germinating vegetation was dominated by annual herbs with an important value of 0.50 at the early stage of the ecological water conveyance (2000-2006),followed by perennial herbs with an important value of 0.20 and by shrubs with an important value of 0.10.With the continuous ecological water conveyance,the annual herbs decreased in 2009 and was gradually replaced by shrubs and perennial herbs.The shrubs were the native halophytes including Halostachys caspica and Halocnemum strobilaceum,and some newly germinated seedlings appeared.Under the environment with abundant water resources during the period from 2012 to 2016,the dominant species composition tended to be simple,and the vegetation developed towards the salinized lowland meadow dominated by reeds.

Key words: ecological water conveyance, plant diversity, plant community, Taitema Lake