Abstract: Water-fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir is a large area of “winter water and summer land” formed by the periodic submergence in the main and tributaries of the Yangtze River. Understanding the mechanisms underlying plant adaptation to flooding is important for restoration and protection of plant community in the water-level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir area. Here, we compare vegetation community changes before and after water fluctuation and summarized the mechanism of annual and perennial plants resisting submergence stress. Annual plants mainly rely on seed dormancy when they are exposed to submergence stress for a long time, while perennial plants may take the “static” strategy to reduce energy consumption and recover rapidly when water falls back. For perennial woody plants in the high altitude, a large number of adventitious roots emerge to alleviate root damage induced by the hypoxia stress in the case of semi-flooding. The research progress of vegetation restoration was summarized and the possible ways to reconstruct plant community of water-level fluctuation zone were discussed according to existing problems, which can provide reference for ecological restoration of vegetation in water-level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir.

Key words: Three Gorges Reservoir area, water-level fluctuation zone, flooding-tolerant plant, flood resistance mechanism, vegetation restoration.