Wetland landscape patterns are the result of various ecological and hydrological processes. Based on the land use landscape types from 1980 to 2017, a transfer matrix, landscape pattern analysis index, and principal component analysis were used to analyze the landscape pattern evolution in the Xiong’an New Area of China, which has a large area with a lake and river wetlands. The results showed that the wetland area has changed greatly since 2000 and the beach land has decreased greatly, while the area of the lake and river wetlands has increased slightly. Beach land was the dominant landscape type of the wetland. The dominant degree of the wetland landscape showed a slightly decreasing trend, and the patches tended to be scattered. The shape complexity of the ponds was the lowest, while that of rivers was the highest. The fragmentation degree of the wetland patches increased, the proportion of landscape types tended to be equalized, and the landscape heterogeneity increased. The leading factors of the wetland landscape change can be summarized as socioeconomic, meteorological, and hydrological processes, with a cumulative contribution rate of 85.3%, among which socioeconomic development was the most important factor. The results have important guiding significance for the ecological restoration and management of wetlands in the Xiong’an New Area and other wetland ecosystems with rivers and lakes.

Rock fragments in soil strongly increase the complexity of hydrological processes. Spatial variability of preferential flow and infiltration characteristics, especially along a rocky-mountain hillslope are poorly understood. In this study, five rainfall–dye tracer experiments were performed in the rocky Taihang Mountains, northern China, to investigate the spatial variability of preferential flow and infiltration redistribution on different hillslope positions. Tracers were used to distinguish macropore flow and actual water flow patterns, and preferential flow indices and spatial non–uniformity of the infiltration redistribution were calculated using image analysis. Results showed increasing trends in the dye coverage, maximum infiltration depth, and steady infiltration rate with increased hillslope position, with a preferential flow fraction of 0.10, 0.11, 0.15, 0.29, and 0.26 for the bottom–, down–, mid–, upper–, and top–slope positions, respectively. With increased hillslope position, the spatial non–uniformity of the infiltration redistribution gradually increased in orthogonal and parallel directions to the stained section, and was supported by the fractal dimensions. Positive (gravel mass ratio, saturated water content, altitude, hydraulic conductivity and roots) and negative (bulk density and clay content) impacts on preferential flow and infiltration redistribution were quantitatively emphasized. The characteristic and mechanism of infiltration process were further identified along a rocky-mountain hillslope.

The plant communities and wild animals in the Gobi desert outside the oases in the west of Hexi Corridor are an indispensable and important part of the human living environment. Affected by global warming, the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of precipitation have changed significantly. This article uses daily precipitation data from 6 hydro-logical stations in the middle and lower reaches of the Shule River Basin from 1957 to 2018, and daily precipitation data from 3 meteorological stations from 1980 to 2018. Through research on annual scale precipitation anomaly percentage, effective precipitation days and annual distribution, and drought station frequency ratio and other parameters, it is shown that there is a significant change in precipitation distribution within the year. The distribution of effective precipitation is not conducive to the survival of ecosystems, and seasonal drought is on the rise. The trend of continuous drought in two seasons and three seasons is on the rise, and the evolution of drought has a significant impact on the natural ecological environment. Effective rainfall is a key element in the rise and fall, distribution, and change of natural ecosystems. Studying the impact of changes in drought characteristics on natural ecology is of great significance for actively responding to drought disasters and maintaining basic ecology.