Study on the Variation Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Hydrological Connectivity in Zoige Wetland

Restoring the ecological function of degraded wetlands from the perspective of hydrological connectivity is of great significance for maintaining the stability of wetland ecosystem and biodiversity. Taking Zoige Wetland as the study area, this paper quantitatively analyzed the changing law of hydrological connectivity of wetland from 2000 to 2020 in terms of structural connectivity and functional connectivity by using the landscape index and the landscape connectivity index, and identified the important habitat patches, as well as the main influencing factors of hydrological connectivity. The results showed that functional connectivity increased slightly overall, with Probability of Connectivity (PC) and Integral Index of Connectivity (IIC) showing synchronized interannual fluctuations and higher mean levels in 2010–2020 than in 2000–2009. Patch-importance analysis (dPC) identified connectivity “backbone” areas along the Yellow River main channel and Central Zoige County. Pearson correlations ( n = 21) indicated that PC was positively associated with precipitation (r = 0.77) and runoff (r = 0.68), and negatively associated with temperature (r = −0.41), vegetation cover (FVC; r = −0.68), and human disturbance proxy (PAFRAC; r = −0.66). These results help elucidate degradation processes and drivers in the Zoige Wetland and inform protection and restoration. Future studies should combine denser time series with field surveys to reduce uncertainties in remote-sensing water mapping.