Review of research hotspots on plant ecology of the water level fluctuation zones of reservoirs: A case study of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Reservoirs are created by dam constructions on rivers and lakes, in which human beings control the hydrologic rhythm. The water level fluctuation zones (WLFZs), corresponding ecosystems of the reservoir, are incredibly fragile. Due to the strong anthropogenic disturbances such as hydrological regimen control, serious eco-environmental problems have been found. Thus, studies on the WLFZs have received global attention. This paper conducted a biliometric analysis using CiteSpace to systematically sort out the studies on plants of the reservoir WLFZs from 2000 to 2023. A total of 164 Chinese articles and 422 English articles were collected. Based on co-citation analysis, keyword temporal analysis, and keyword highlighting analysis, the research hotspots were identified as the impact of water level fluctuations on plant survival, growth, productivity, and community composition, as well as the energy cycling and landscape patterns in reservoir WLFZs. Moreover, the current study selected the vegetation in the WLFZs of the Three Gorges Reservoir as the case study, combining it with the author’s long-term research experiences. The case study mainly included a systematic review of basic and applied research on plants in the WLFZs of the TGR in terms of spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of plant communities under water level changes, characteristics of the soil seed bank, plant’s functional traits, physiological and ecological characteristics of plants under flooding stress, restoration of the vegetation in the WLFZs and construction of environmental projects, as well as application of molecular techniques. Finally, future studies of plants in the WLFZs of the reservoir were also identified.