Spatial Analysis as a Tool for Plant Population Conservation: A Case Study of Tamarix chinensis in the Yellow River Delta, China

Le Jiao, Yue Zhang, Tao Sun, Wei Yang, Dongdong Shao, Peng Zhang and Qiang Liu
Additional contact information
Le Jiao: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Yue Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Tao Sun: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Wei Yang: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Dongdong Shao: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Peng Zhang: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
Qiang Liu: State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: Saltcedar ( Tamarix chinensis ) is undergoing population declination and fragmentation due to climate change and human disturbance. The existing restoration strategies usually focus on improving the environmental conditions based on the environment–saltcedar relationship, while they ignore the role of spatial autocorrelation resulting from biological interaction and ecological processes. This oversight limits the efficiency and sustainability of the restoration. Here, we explored the spatial pattern of the saltcedar population in the Yellow River Delta, China, and its relationship with environmental factors, incorporating spatial autocorrelation. The plant and soil parameters were extracted by an airborne LiDAR system integrated with fixed soil environment measurements. The environment–saltcedar relationship incorporating spatial autocorrelation was evaluated with different regression models. Results showed that saltcedars aggregated at small scales (2–6 m), resulting from intraspecific facilitation and wind dispersal of seeds, while intraspecific competition was responsible for the random distribution at large scales (>10 m). The long-distance dispersal of seeds through water explained the significant positive spatial autocorrelation of saltcedars at distances up to 125 m. Consequently, resulting from intraspecific facilitation and seed dispersal, aggregation distribution and positive spatial autocorrelation within the saltcedar population improved the adaptability of saltcedar to environmental stress and thereby reduced the impact of environmental factors on the abundance of saltcedar.

Keywords: airborne LiDAR system; plant population restoration; spatial autocorrelation; spatial distribution pattern; Tamarix chinensis; Yellow River Delta (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8291/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8291/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8291-:d:600788

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().