A Survey of Wetlands around Qinghai Lake and Their Classification by Remote Sensing

Wetlands around Qinghai Lake are large in area and diverse in type,they are important habitats for wildlife in Qinghai Lake.A classification system of Qinghai Lake wetland resources was developed using remote sensing for image classification in combination with ground survey.The system was used to study the current status and distribution pattern of wetland resources in the region.Classification analysis indicates that the area of wetlands in this region is 4,588.8352 km 2,with the lake as the main body.The main types of wetlands were swamps,lakes and rivers.They were all natural wetlands,including estuarine wetlands,aquaticterrestrial wetlands,salt-alkalization of marshes,seasonal floodplains,marshes,freshwater lakes,lake(saline lakes) and rivers.Combining with the characteristics of landform,hydrology,vegetation types and biotic conditions around Qinghai Lake,the distribution and genesis of typical wetlands in Qinghai Lake were described in details,providing a basis for future studies and conservation of Qinghai Lake.