Wetlands are globally valuable ecosystems as they provide many important services to the human society, yet the ecology of some of them is yet to be understood. This study assessed the functionality of Letšeng-la-Letsie wetland in Lesotho, using the Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) technique and soil quality indicators. LFA threshold values for stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling were found to be >50%, >30% and >20%, respectively, whereas the mean surface stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling were 55.4 ± 1.9%, 28 ± 1.9%, and 15.5 ± 2% respectively. Although soil cover was high, the soil was unstable with low litter and low cryptogam cover. These rendered the soil less fertile, resulting in lower primary plant productivity and nutrient cycling potential. The three LFA indices were correlated with soil quality indicators, including pH, carbon, nitrogen, soil texture, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, cation exchange capacity and phosphorus. Clay content and CEC had a significant (p < 0.05) negative correlation with the LFA indices and soil organic carbon. Redundancy analysis showed that stability was positively correlated to soil carbon and potassium. Monitoring of this wetland ecosystem is deemed necessary for the early warning of possible landscape degradation, as a result of induced pressures on the ecosystem.

湿地是全球有价值的生态系统，因为它们为人类社会提供了许多重要的服务，但是其中一些生态系统尚待了解。这项研究使用景观功能分析（LFA）技术和土壤质量指标，评估了莱索托的莱森格勒莱奇湿地的功能。LFA稳定性，渗透和养分循环的阈值分别为> 50％，> 30％和> 20％，而平均表面稳定性，渗透和养分循环的阈值为55.4±1.9％，28±1.9％和分别为15.5±2％。尽管土壤覆盖率高，但土壤不稳定，凋落物少，隐孢子虫覆盖率低。这些使土壤肥沃，导致初级植物的生产力和养分循环潜力降低。三个LFA指数与土壤质量指标相关，包括pH，碳，氮，土壤质地，钙，镁，钠，钾，阳离子交换容量和磷。粘土含量和CEC具有显着的（p <0.05）与LFA指数和土壤有机碳呈负相关。冗余度分析表明，稳定性与土壤碳和钾呈正相关。由于对生态系统产生了压力，因此对这种湿地生态系统的监测被认为是必要的，以便对可能的景观退化进行早期预警。