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Tamarix chinensis is a dominant species in both the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve and Changyi National Marine Specific Protection Area, Laizhou Bay, China, and plays an important role in wetland ecosystems. We investigated the relationship between T. chinensis and environmental factors, and the influences of T. chinensis on understory plants. We selected four T. chinensis communities with different hydrologic conditions and salinities in the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve and the Changyi National Marine Specific Protection Area. The results showed that the growth of T. chinensis was negatively correlated with soil salinity. Generally no fertile island effects or salt island effects of T. chinensis on herbaceous plant communities were found in the coastal area of Laizhou Bay, China. In areas with high salinity, T. chinensis provided nursery effects for understory herbaceous species, increasing species diversity and enhancing plant growth. In low-salinity environments, T. chinensis appeared to restrain the growth of understory plants. This study observed different influences of T. chinensis on herbaceous species between the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve and Changyi National Marine Specific Protection Area, providing scientific basis and theoretical foundation for investigating plant distribution and ecological community succession in Laizhou Bay, China.

The driver of plant community assembly in riparian marshes is vital but still unclear. In this study, we report the results of sixty plots located along the downstream Yellow River to identify the driver of plant community assemblages. Seven functional traits were measured and compiled to calculate functional beta diversity, and phylogenetic tree was constructed to assess phylogenetic dissimilarity. The analyses show that all of traits had weak phylogenetic signals using the Blomberg’s K statistic. The phylogenetic and functional beta diversity present clustering patterns, with the exception of leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf phosphorus concentration; and the standardized effect sizes based on multi-traits, maximum height, leaf dry matter content are well correlated with the environmental gradient. The findings imply that environment filtering was responsible for the variation of beta diversity, and drove community assembly in the riparian marsh. Of all environmental factors, soil salinity is the most crucial indicator to dominate the pattern of beta diversity.