UNDERSTANDING THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF PLANT DIVERSITY AND SOIL ENVIRONMENT IN CAOHAI LAKESIDE WETLAND, GUIZHOU PROVINCE

Abstract

Wetland vegetation stands as a pivotal constituent within wetland ecosystems, assuming critical roles in delineating environmental attributes, harnessing energy, and remedying contaminants. Possessing notable productivity, they orchestrate the intricate dance of energy and matter in these ecosystems. The diversity of wetland vegetation, a hallmark of ecological richness, is subject to the sway of multifarious environmental factors, with soil constitution emerging as a linchpin in plant growth and survival. Owing to its role as the material bedrock for plant development, disparities in soil physicochemical properties and parent materials wield profound influence over the distribution patterns and species diversity of wetland flora. In the intricate web of an ecosystem, soil nutrients wield direct influence over the ecological stoichiometry of plants, reciprocally shaping nutrient dynamics. This mutual interplay underscores the imperative of comprehending plant-soil interactions and their coupling characteristics. A study by Zhou Hongyan et al. scrutinized dominant flora in the Poyang Lake region, revealing that soil moisture content, coupled with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels, jointly dictated the ecological stoichiometric traits of the vegetation. Meanwhile, research by Zhang et al. delved into the ecological stoichiometric attributes of carbon (C), N, and P in the soil of the Shuangtaizi River Estuary wetland in northeastern China. Their findings unveiled a landscape rife with high spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of ecological stoichiometric ratios, profoundly influenced by a tapestry of factors including plant coverage, community features, topographical undulations, and geomorphological nuances. Furthermore, their insights pointed to phosphorus as the principal limiting factor in the orchestration of plant succession within estuarine wetlands.