Study on sediment stability between vegetation and bare flats in a muddy intertidal flat: A case study for Chongming Dongtan in the Yangtze River Estuary

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-5641.2023.03.017

Abstract

Abstract:

With the present global warming scenario, the erosion of intertidal flats in estuarine zones often occurs due to rising sea levels and an increase in human activities. Intertidal flats have an important ecological function and economic value, including for carbon sequestration, preventing flooding, water purification, attenuating waves, and tourism development. Hence, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the stability of the wetland ecosystem for intertidal flats. Previous studies mainly focused on the stability of intertidal bare flats, while the stability of salt marsh ecosystems has attracted relatively less attention. The mechanisms of their respective influencing factors are, as of yet, poorly understood. In this study, we took a typical muddy intertidal zone of Chongming Dongtan in the Yangtze River Estuary as an example and made a comparative analysis on sediment stability for both the salt marsh zone and the adjacent bare flat using in-situ sampling and laboratory tests. The results indicate that: ① Sediment stability improves with an increase of clay content in the bare flat. ② Sediment stability in the salt marsh zone is significantly higher than that in the adjacent bare flat because of the “reinforcing” effect of the root system. ③ Underground biomass determines sediment stability for the same type of vegetation. The sediment becomes more stable with an increase of the underground biomass in vegetation. The sediment stability of different vegetation is determined by characteristics of the vegetation root system. The sediment stability of Spartina alterniflora vegetation zone with coarser roots was worse than that of Scirpus mariqueter with finer roots. Our results not only advance theoretical research on sediment stability in intertidal flats, but also provide scientific guidance for the construction of Green Sea Defence and other coastal green protection measures.

Key words: sediment stability, critical shear stress, muddy intertidal zone, salt marsh vegetation, sediment grain size

CLC Number:

P737.12+1

Yingxin ZHANG, Wenxiang ZHANG, Benwei SHI, Yaping WANG. Study on sediment stability between vegetation and bare flats in a muddy intertidal flat: A case study for Chongming Dongtan in the Yangtze River Estuary[J]. Journal of East China Normal University(Natural Science), 2022, 2022(6): 169-177.

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区域	潮滩类型	中值粒径/μm	粒度组成
北部	淤泥质潮滩	高潮滩 3 ~ 16	黏土质粉砂
北部	淤泥质潮滩	中、低潮滩 7 ~ 100	黏土质粉砂、粉砂质砂和粉砂
中部	淤泥质潮滩	高潮滩 32 ~ 62	粉砂
中部	淤泥质潮滩	中、低潮滩 20 ~ 110	粉砂、粉砂质砂和细砂
南部	粉砂质潮滩	高潮滩 24 ~ 70	粉砂和砂
南部	粉砂质潮滩	中、低潮滩 31 ~ 105	粉砂、粉砂质砂和细砂

断面	采样时间	样点	植被带
北断面	2021-06-28 8:00—9:00	N1, N2	互花米草
中断面	2021-06-27 8:00—9:00	M1, M2	海三棱藨草
南断面	2021-06-27 10:00—11:00	S1, S2	海三棱藨草

断面	点位	中值粒径/μm	粒度组成/%			分选系数	偏度	峰度	沉积物分类
断面	点位	中值粒径/μm	黏土	粉砂	砂	分选系数	偏度	峰度	沉积物分类
北断面	N1	5.22	43.24	55.50	1.26	2.78	0.33	0.69	黏土质粉砂
北断面	N2	6.84	39.18	59.16	1.70	2.90	0.36	0.67	黏土质粉砂
中断面	M1	10.35	26.22	68.71	5.06	2.73	0.40	1.30	黏土质粉砂
中断面	M2	11.25	23.94	71.03	5.03	2.70	0.43	1.35	黏土质粉砂
南断面	S1	40.65	1.62	77.46	20.92	1.24	0.29	1.32	粉砂
南断面	S2	41.35	0.16	80.20	19.65	0.89	0.15	1.31	粉砂

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