Abstract: An investigation was made on the ecological characteristics and areal types of the plants in 24 permafrost wetlands in the Great Hing’an Mountains. There were 201 plant species, belonging to 40 families and 121 genera. The species of Compositae and Rosaceae were dominant, occupying 26.8% of the total. In five  life forms, hemicryptophytes occupied 71%, phanerophytes and geophytes occupied 13% and 12%, and chamaephytes and therophytes occupied 2%, respectively. In four hydro-ecotypes, mesophytes occupied 61%, and hygrophytes, helophytes, and xerophils occupied 28%, 8%, and 3%, respectively. In four areal types, the plants of temperate zone were the most. Due to the high altitude and high latitude, the plants of sub-frigid and frigid zones took second place. All the results indicated that the study area had a short summer and a long and cold winter, and the soil moisture tended to be moderate. This study would have important value to further studies on the environmental change and the degeneration of permafrost wetlands in the Great Hing’an Mountains.

Key words: Loess Plateau, Land use, Landscape diversity, Dynamics