Changes of <i>Tamarix austromongolica</i> forests with embankment dams along the Laizhou bay

In the area before embankment dams, 84.8% of <i>T. austromongolica</i> were juveniles (basal diameter ≤ 3 cm), and 15.2% were adults (basal diameter > 3 cm); behind the dams, 52.9% were juveniles, and 47.1 were adults. In the area before the dams, the land bareness was 13.7%, four species occurred, and they all were ready to co-occur with <i>T. austromongolica</i>; behind the dams, the land bareness was 0%, and 16 species occurred whereas they somewhat resisted co-occurrence with <i>T. austromongolica</i>. In the area before the dams, the <i>T. austromongolica</i> population was aggregated in heterogeneous patches, and the juveniles tended to co-occur with the adults; behind the dams, they were over-dispersed as nearly uniform distributions, while the juveniles could recruit and were primarily independent of the adults. These results indicate that the <i>T. austromongolica</i> species did not suffer from the unnatural dams, but benefited somehow in population expansion and development. Overall, the <i>T. austromongolica</i> species can adapt to artificial embankment dams to create a synthetic defense against storm surges.