山地小微湿地:概念、形成机制、特征与规划策略OACHSSCD

[Objective]Small wetlands in mountainous areas are typical small-scale ecological spaces embedded in mountain terrain,hydrological processes,and human settlement systems.Different from large riverine and lacustrine wetlands in plains,they usually occur as springs,ponds,seepage wetlands,slope wetlands,valley wetlands,small impoundments,irrigation ponds,ditches,weirs,karst depressions,and seasonal vernal pools.Although individual patches are small in size,they are widely distributed along slope seepage zones,valley bottoms,foot slope accumulation areas,agroforestry mosaics,and settlement margins.They play important roles in runoff retention,flood buffering,groundwater recharge,habitat maintenance,biodiversity conservation,nutrient interception,landscape shaping,local water supply,and ecological product provision.However,because of their small size,strong topographic concealment,seasonal hydrological dynamics,and limited detectability in conventional land use surveys,small wetlands in mountainous areas are often merged into other land categories or neglected in planning practice.This has led to a structural blind spot in mountain territorial ecological governance.Against the background of ecological zoning control,territorial spatial planning,and refined ecological restoration,this paper aims to clarify the concept,ecological functions,cross-scale effects,governance dilemmas,and planning strategies of small wetlands in mountainous areas,so as to provide a theoretical basis and operational framework for integrating them into territorial spatial governance and landscape architecture practice. [Methods]This study adopts a synthetic review and conceptual integration approach.It systematically examines relevant literature on small wetlands,mountain wetlands,hydrogeomorphic wetland classification,ecosystem services,biodiversity conservation,landscape connectivity,territorial ecological restoration,and small-scale ecological space planning.On this basis,the paper redefines small wetlands in mountainous areas from the perspective of territorial spatial governance rather than from a single area threshold.It analyzes their formation mechanisms through the coupled effects of topography,geology,hydrology,and human activities,and identifies their main natural and semi-artificial types.The study further summarizes their ecological characteristics,including high spatial heterogeneity,strong hydrological fluctuation,process sensitivity,landscape mosaic patterns,and human-nature coupling.It then interprets their key ecological functions and cross-scale effects from the perspective of"patch−network−watershed"transmission.Finally,the paper evaluates existing governance constraints and develops a planning strategy framework that links investigation,classification,value assessment,spatial control,reasonable use,monitoring and adaptive governance. [Results]The study finds that small wetlands in mountainous areas should not be understood merely as small remnants outside large and medium-sized wetland systems.Instead,they should be recognized as basic ecological units with clear spatial locations,identifiable process connections,and practical governance feasibility.Their formation is controlled by surface runoff accumulation,groundwater discharge,karst and special geomorphic processes,snowmelt,microtopographic depressions,and long-term local water-use practices.In mountain landscapes,these wetlands are not isolated patches.They are often organized as clustered,beaded,chain-like,or mosaic wetland groups through surface runoff,shallow subsurface flow,groundwater emergence,biological dispersal,and traditional pond−ditch systems.At the patch scale,they regulate local hydrology,microclimate,nutrient transformation,pollution interception,and habitat provision.At the network scale,different patches perform complementary roles along altitudinal,slope-position,and hydrological gradients.Headwater and upper-slope wetlands tend to support source retention and runoff delay,mid-slope and valley-transition wetlands contribute to flow redistribution and sediment or nutrient interception,while lower-slope and settlement-edge wetlands often support water purification,habitat maintenance,risk buffering,and local livelihood needs.At the watershed scale,their distributed but connected network can generate cumulative ecological effects in flood mitigation,water quality improvement,biodiversity maintenance,and ecosystem service provision.The overall value of small wetlands in mountainous areas therefore lies not in the linear relationship between individual size and individual benefit,but in the non-linear amplification of multiple small units through spatial connectivity,functional complementarity,and redundancy.The paper also identifies three major governance dilemmas.First,small wetlands in mountainous areas are ecologically important but often invisible in conventional surveys and planning systems.Seasonal and temporary wetlands are especially prone to being missed.Second,existing research often focuses either on regional-scale statistics or single-patch ecological processes,while planning practice requires intermediate-scale knowledge at the levels of small watersheds,wetland groups,and settlement units.Third,current protection and management systems remain insufficient for mountain contexts,because they often treat small wetlands as isolated objects and lack institutional responses to their network effects,cross-scale ecological functions,and coupled protection−use relationships. [Conclusion]Small wetlands in mountainous areas should be incorporated into territorial spatial planning as identifiable,assessable,configurable,and manageable basic ecological units.The paper proposes a planning framework of"investigation and identification—classification and grading—value assessment—spatial control—ecological restoration—reasonable use—monitoring and feedback."Specifically,basic surveys should integrate multi-temporal remote sensing,terrain-constrained analysis,UAV-based identification,field verification,and local community knowledge.Classification and value assessment should shift from area-oriented judgment to a comprehensive framework considering object attributes,degradation status,functional value,network position,process criticality,and governance needs.Spatial control should be implemented across patch,network,and watershed scales,emphasizing patch integrity,hydrological and habitat connectivity,and watershed-level process continuity.Reasonable use should be developed under ecological constraints through ecological agriculture,distributed water storage,low-impact recreation,natural education,cultural landscape renewal,and OECM-based community governance.Long-term monitoring,standards,policy coordination,and adaptive governance are necessary to sustain ecological processes and social cooperation.In this sense,small wetlands in mountainous areas should move from being fragmented marginal objects in mountain landscapes to foundational ecological units in territorial spatial planning,ecological restoration,and landscape design.