Response of Vegetation to Shoreline Alternation in a Large Reservoir

Shoreline armoring is a globally used engineering strategy to prevent shoreline erosion along stream, lake and reservoir coastlines. Armoring alters the land-water interface and has the potential to affect shoreline vegetation by changing nearshore geomorphology, hydrology, sediment composition and water quality. We quantified the effects of the artificial disturbances and alternation of the land-water interface on the community structure and distribution of shoreline vegetation in a large reservoir, Uiam Reservoir, Korea. More than 60% of shorelines were disturbed by armoring with retaining wall of concrete block, riprap and gabion in the Uiam Reservoir. The results of detrended correspondence analysis showed that the vegetation structures of the shoreline modified by armoring changed from hydrophyte-dominated to hygrophyte-dominated ecosystems. The shoreline armoring caused the disruption of gradual continuity in the water-land interface and the biological invasion by alien plants. The changes in distribution area of shoreline vegetation showed that the area of hydrophytic vegetation decreased and that of hygrophytic vegetation increased from 2010 to 2013. In conclusion, the human disturbance such as armoring, road construction, recreation etc. could lead to terrestrialization, the loss of transverse continuity and biological invasion in the shoreline vegetation of the Reservoir Uiam. Our findings suggest that redesigning or removing shoreline armoring structures may benefit nearshore hydrophytic vegetation for the conservation of novel shoreline ecosystems.