The Loess Plateau River Wetland Ecological Restoration Design Research

The Loess Plateau, characterized by poor natural conditions and water resource shortage, has always been considered as the key region with great requirements for the construction of ecological environment. The main type of wetland in this region is river wetland which is dominated by the Huang river and its tributary. Currently, the principle ecological problems in this region are the decreased amount of water resource and area, degradation of ecological functions, serious pollutions, sharp decrease in the biodiversity, and the aggravated contradiction between the environment protection and reasonable utilization. It is a pressing item to find out the most suitable ecological restoration designing measurements for the river wetlands in the Loess Plateau.Based on a study on the ecological restoration theories, designing goals, designing procedures, factors impacting on the designations and restoration technologies relative to river wetlands, this study analyzed the current status and characteristics of the Loess Plateau, and conducted a specific ecological restoration designing research on a typical river wetland – Shaanxi Qian Lake National Wetland Park in the Loess Plateau. For a successful procedure of the project, a scientific scheme was made, and the ‘3S’ techniques were used to investigate the bound of the wetland park, the wetland types, the plant and animal resources, the natural conditions, the ecosystem functions and services, and the current problems. The ecological restoration design research, the technical route, the guiding ideology, the design and functional layout were determined. Principles consisted with throughout the study included natural cycling, biodiversity, and safety, and some proper techniques were selected and used for the restoration designing of the wetland park. The restoration designing schemes proposed here were:(1) water environment restoration, such as comprehensive treatments for point and non-point wastes, construction of water conservation forests and soil conservation forests;(2) floodplain restoration, such as returning farmlands to wetlands and the integral utilization of joe, shrubs and herbaceous;(3) wetland slope restoration, such as renovation of resistant slopes, protection of originally natural slopes, and construction of wetland slopes;(4) wetland space reconstruction, such as restoration of the river bending degree, the construction of shallow and deep water pools;(5) wetland biotic and inhabitation restoration, such as the restoration of wetland plant diversity, the cultivation and management of local arbor forests, the construction of hidden place for birds, the construction of shallow and deep water pools, the construction of fruit forests favorable to the birds. In addition, restoration designing schemes for the environmental pieces and accessories, including hydrophilic corridors, lotus gardens, qinfeng gardens, and the tourism and leisure regions, were proposed, and great achievements were obtained by putting these schemes into applications. Practical technologies for the restoration designations of river wetlands in the LoessPlateau were concluded based on the contradistinction, analysis and discussion, which providing a guidance and demonstration for the ecological restoration designations of similar wetlands。...