Abstract: The ecological restoration of aquatic plants in wetlands is a hotspot in research area. Based on the habitat conditions of emergent macrophytes, we classified the habitat factors affecting emergent macrophyte growth into three categories, including main limiting factors, important constraining factors, and general influencing factors. Among these factors, water depth plays the most important limiting role on different growth stages of emergent macrophytes, with water demands varying among different growth stages. It is thus considered as the main limiting factor. Light, temperature, pH, nutrient, organic pollutant, and substrate have obvious impacts on the growth of emergent macrophytes. Each habitat factor has its specific range to meet the needs of optimal growth of macrophyte growth, which are the important constraining factors. The suitable ranges of water current, salinity, heavy metal, and biotic factor are relatively wide and have weak impacts, they are therefore considered as the general influencing factors. The growth of emergent macrophytes play important roles in purifying water quality, regulating microclimate, improving soil quality, and inhibiting algae growth. The management of emergent macrophytes should pay attention to the control of water depth and exogenous pollution input, the restoration and improvement of the habitat conditions of emergent macrophytes, and the rational construction of emergent macrophyte communities.

Key words: wetland, emergent macrophyte, habitat factor, water quality improvement, ecological restoration.