Complementary functions of created wetlands along river channels and rice paddies in floodplain biodiversity conservation

Abstract

The creation of wetlands along river channels, or inter-levee floodplain wetlands (ILWs), increases the cross-sectional area of rivers for flood control and is an effective nature-based solution (NbS) that is expected to achieve both flood control and biodiversity conservation in floodplains in riverine areas in Japan. To clarify the differences in habitat functions between ILWs and rice paddy fields, we surveyed the species assemblage and habitat usage of aquatic animal assemblages in ILWs and nearby rice paddies in the Nobi Plain of central Japan. Rana japonica bred in the ILWs, and taxon numbers of Odonata larvae and aquatic Hemiptera were greater in ILWs than in rice paddies. Fish taxa were also more abundant in the ILWs. ILWs were characterized mainly by taxa with a preference for permanent water bodies in their life history, whereas Dryophytes japonicus, Pelophylax porosus brevipodus, and Fejervarya kawamurai inhabited and bred mainly in the rice paddies, and the number of taxa of aquatic Coleoptera was also higher. The assemblages in the rice paddies were characterized by pioneer taxa with a preference for temporary waters as their primary breeding sites. Our results show that the creation of ILWs for flood control and the maintenance of rice paddies could help to conserve the original floodplain biodiversity through the complementarity of these different wetland types.