Effects of Sediment Types on the Distribution and Diversity of Plant Communities in the Poyang Lake Wetlands

Abstract

At small scales, sedimentary deposition types mediate hydrological changes to drive wetland vegetation distribution patterns and species diversity. To examine the effects of sediment types on the distribution and diversity of plant communities in a wetland region, 150 quadrats were investigated (elevation range of 10.5–12.5 m) in the lake basin areas of Poyang Lake. We divided the surface soil into three sediment types (lacustrine sediments, fluvio-lacustrine sediments, and fluvial sediments), and then compared and analyzed the distribution and species diversity of the wetland plants among them. The results revealed the following findings: (i) within this elevation range, Carex cinerascens, Carex cinerascens–Polygonum criopolitanum, Polygonum criopolitanum, and Phalaris arundinacea communities exist; (ii) from lacustrine sediments to fluvial sediments, the distribution of plant communities showed a transition trend—with the Carex cinerascens and Phalaris arundinacea communities shifting into the Polygonum criopolitanum community; (iii) detrended correspondence analysis and redundancy analysis demonstrated that the soil particle composition and flood duration in 2017 generated a differential wetland plant distribution under the conditions of three sediment types along the littoral zones of Poyang Lake; and (iv) the plant communities on the lacustrine sediments had a higher species diversity than those established on the fluvio-lacustrine sediments and fluvial sediments.