Trait-based approach of aquatic insects to track recovery of wetland ecosystems in Northeast China

Abstract

Wetland restoration has received increasing attention to compensate for the continuing loss of natural wetlands and revive biodiversity and associated ecological functions. The development of methods for assessing the effectiveness of restoration measures is important for wetland management. However, most studies assessing restoration success in freshwater ecosystems are based on taxonomic biodiversity; trait-based approaches remain limited, particularly in wetland ecosystems. Here, we assess the effectiveness of wetland restoration in the Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China, based on the trait composition and functional diversity of aquatic insect assemblages. We found that functional richness in restored wetlands was significantly higher than impacted wetlands but lower than natural wetlands. Compared to natural wetlands, functional beta diversity of impacted wetlands was higher. In terms of dissimilarity between wetland types, trait composition of aquatic insects in restored wetlands showed a higher similarity to natural wetlands compared to those in impacted wetlands. Trait compositions of aquatic insect assemblages in restored wetlands were more similar to impacted wetlands in May but showed a greater similarity to natural wetlands in October. Our study shows that restoration measures have facilitated the partial recovery of functional diversity and trait composition of aquatic insect assemblages in the Sanjiang Plain wetlands. Our study confirms the potential of using trait-based approach to assess the effectiveness of wetland restoration. Given that assessments based on taxonomic and trait data can provide complementary information, we recommend incorporating both taxonomic and functional metrics and considering seasonal dynamics of wetlands in post-restoration monitoring and assessment in wetlands.