A Modeling Assessment of Large-Scale Hydrologic Alteration in South American Pantanal Due to Upstream Dam Operation

Jardim, Pedro Frediani; Melo, Maria Marcella Medeiros; Ribeiro, Larissa de Castro; Collischonn, Walter; Paz, Adriano Rolim da

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2020.567450

Cited by 34 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Water eutrophication has become one of the major environmental issues affecting lakes and reservoirs on a global scale (Paerl et al, 2016;Wang et al, 2019). Compared to natural rivers, artificial reservoirs generally exhibit hydrodynamic variations and longer exchange periods (Jardim et al, 2020). Additionally, numerous nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are intercepted, which alter the nutrient cycle, drive the rapid propagation of algae and other plankton, and decrease the dissolved oxygen (DO) content in the water body (Van Cappellen and Maavara, 2016;Shi et al, 2017;Petty et al, 2020), thereby worsening the eutrophication of the water body.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Distribution of Bacterial Community in Water Columns of Reservoirs With Different Trophic Conditions During Thermal Stratification

Yue

Cai

Tang

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Water eutrophication is a global ecological issue, and thermal stratification of water bodies can enable eutrophication. We examined bacterial communities in the stratified water columns and sediments in two different trophic reservoirs along the Wujiang River using quantitative real-time PCR and high-throughput sequencing. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene copies varied from 3.70 × 107 to 5.27 × 108 copies/L in the water column of Hongjiadu (HJD) Reservoir (60 m water depth) with slightly stratified variation; while in Wujiangdu (WJD) Reservoir (70 m water depth), bacterial abundance decreased markedly from the surface to the bottom(1.74 × 109 to 2.38 × 107 copies/L). The vertical distribution patterns of bacteria in both reservoirs resembled those of water Chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations. The abundance was negatively correlated with water depth (D), total nitrogen (TN), nitrate (NO3–-N), and positively correlated with water temperature (T) and dissolved oxygen (DO) level. In contrast, the alpha diversity of bacteria showed the opposite trend in the vertical water column. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes were the predominant phyla in the water column of both reservoirs. Compared to WJD Reservoir, HJD Reservoir displayed marked vertical spatial difference in bacterial community structure during thermal stratification. In particular, Pseudomonas was frequently detected at the bottom of the HJD Reservoir. These results were consistent with predictive metagenomic profiling that revealed different vertical functional variation patterns of the bacterial communities in the two reservoirs. The bacterial community structure of HJD Reservoir was associated with water D, ammonium (NH4+-N), nitrite (NO2–-N), and total phosphorus (TP). The community structure of WJD Reservoir was related to water T, Chla, NO3–-N, and TN. The findings highlighted the important roles played by thermal stratification and nutrients in shaping the water bacterial community structure. Additionally, the absolute abundance of water nitrifiers (AOB gene copies) and denitrifiers (narG, nirS, norB, and nosZ gene copies) displayed significant vertical differences in the water columns of both reservoirs. Gene copies involved in denitrification were significantly higher than those involved in nitrification. Water phosphorus and nitrogen contents were important variables influencing the absolute abundance of ammonia oxidizers and denitrifying bacteria, respectively. Our study revealed that the emergence of thermal stratification was responsible for the vertical stratification of bacteria in water and affected the bacterial community structure together with nutrients.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical Distribution of Bacterial Community in Water Columns of Reservoirs With Different Trophic Conditions During Thermal Stratification

Yue

Cai

Tang

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…Braun-Cruz et al (2021) reported evidence of hydropeaking by the Itiquira hydropower facility on the Itiquira River, which was included in the present study. The downstream hydrological effects of the much larger Manso Dam were recently evaluated in detail by Jardim et al (2020). Fantin-Cruz et al (2015 analyzed IHA at multiannual time scales attributable to the Ponte de Pedra hydropower facility, also one of our study sites and our largest facility in terms of installed capacity (176 MW).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

Figueiredo

Fantin-Cruz

Silva

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Hydroelectric facilities often release water at variable rates over the day to match electricity demand, resulting in short-term variability in downstream discharge and water levels. This sub-daily variability, known as hydropeaking, has mostly been studied at large facilities. The ongoing global proliferation of small hydropower (SHP) facilities, which in Brazil are defined as having installed capacities between 5 and 30 MW, raises the question of how these facilities may alter downstream flow regimes by hydropeaking. This study examines the individual and cumulative effects of hydropower facilities on tributaries in the upland watershed of the Pantanal, a vast floodplain wetland system located on the upper Paraguay River, mostly in Brazil. Simultaneous hourly discharge measurements from publicly available reference and downstream gage stations were analyzed for 11 reaches containing 24 hydropower facilities. Most of the facilities are SHPs and half are run-of-river designs, often with diversion channels (headraces). Comparison of daily data over an annual period, summarized by indicators of hydrological alteration (HA) that describe the magnitude, frequency, rate of change, and duration of flows, revealed differences at sub-daily scales attributable to hydropeaking by the hydropower facilities. Results showed statistically significant sub-daily HA in all 11 reaches containing hydropower facilities in all months. Discharge indicators that showed the highest percentage of days with increased variability were the mean rates of rise and fall, amplitude, duration of high pulses, maximum discharge, and number of reversals. Those that showed higher percentages of decreased variability included minimum discharge, number of high pulses, duration of stability, and number of low pulses. There was no correlation between HA values and physical characteristics of rivers or hydropower facilities (including installed capacity), and reaches with multiple facilities did not differ in HA from those with single facilities. This study demonstrates that SHPs as well as larger hydropower facilities cause hydrological alterations attributable to hydropeaking. Considering the rapid expansion of SHPs in tropical river systems, there is an urgent need to understand whether the ecological impacts of hydropeaking documented in temperate biomes also apply to these systems.

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“…In this context, except for the studies by [2] and [26] which have large storage reservoirs, little is known about the effects of run-of-river hydroelectric operations on the Pantanal's hydrological regime, especially on the impacts of hydropeaking. This study's objective is therefore to evaluate whether the operation of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric facility affects the sub-daily hydrological regime of the downstream river.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Hydrological Alterations at the Sub-Daily Scale Caused by a Small Hydroelectric Facility

Braun-Cruz

Tritico

Beregula

et al. 2021

Water

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This work aims to evaluate the hydrologic changes caused by a small hydropower plant on the watercourse in which it is installed. Since hydrologic research with data of temporal frequencies less than a day is less common than daily measurements, there are few indicators and methodologies capable of treating such records. For this reason, 17 indicators are proposed which describe the magnitude, duration, frequency and rate of changes in hydrologic conditions occurring in a watercourse at a sub-daily frequency. These 17 indicators were used to assess changes in the flow regimes at sub-daily scales across the Itiquira hydroelectric facility in Mato Grosso, Brazil. During the dry season the river was more susceptible to hydroelectric operations than during the wet season. Eighty-eight percent of the proposed indicators were significantly altered during the dry season compared to 71% during the rainy season. In addition to the number of indicators that changed between the seasons, the magnitude of the change was different. During the dry season, 53% of the magnitudes of the proposed indicators were classified as having a high magnitude of change, while in the rainy season only 6% of the indicators were characterized as having a high magnitude of change.

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A Modeling Assessment of Large-Scale Hydrologic Alteration in South American Pantanal Due to Upstream Dam Operation

Cited by 34 publications

References 88 publications

Vertical Distribution of Bacterial Community in Water Columns of Reservoirs With Different Trophic Conditions During Thermal Stratification

Vertical Distribution of Bacterial Community in Water Columns of Reservoirs With Different Trophic Conditions During Thermal Stratification

Hydropeaking by Small Hydropower Facilities Affects Flow Regimes on Tributaries to the Pantanal Wetland of Brazil

Evaluation of Hydrological Alterations at the Sub-Daily Scale Caused by a Small Hydroelectric Facility

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