Impacts of the Gezhouba and Three Gorges reservoirs on the sediment regime in the Yangtze River, China

Li, Qiongfang; Yu, Mei; Lu, Guoping; Cai, Tao; Bai, Xue; Xia, Ziqiang

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.03.043

Cited by 154 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…A large body of literature has quantified the sediment load trapped by the dam, and changes in fluvial sediment export, as well as its hydrological and geomorphological consequences for downstream channels (Yang et al, 2005;Yang et al, 2006;Yang et al, 2007;Chen et al, 2008;Dai et al, 2008;Hu et al, 2009;Xu and Milliman, 2009;Dai et al, 2011;Li et al, 2011b;Wang et al, 2011;Luo et al, 2012;Dai and Liu, 2013;Nakayama and Shankman, 2013;Dai et al, 2014;Feng et al, 2014;Jiang et al, 2014;Lai et al, 2014;Yang et al, 2014;Meng et al, 2015;Yang et al, 2015). A recent study estimated that the annual averaged amount of sediment trapped by the Three Gorges Dam ranged from 116 to 234 Mt/yr during 2003-2012, with an average of 118 Mt/yr (Yang et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Tang

Bao

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

104

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• Hydrological regime in the reservoir fluctuation zone has been significantly altered.• Grain-size variations are diagnostic for sedimentary stratigraphy differentiation.• Post-dam sedimentation processes were reproduced by chronology determination.• Regular flow regulation controls contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics. Since the launch of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, a distinctive reservoir fluctuation zone has been created and significantly modified by regular dam operations. Sediment redistribution within this artificial landscape differs substantially from that in natural fluvial riparian zones, due to a specific hydrological regime comprising steps of water impoundment with increasing magnitudes and seasonal water level fluctuation holding a range of sediment fluxes. This study reinterpreted post-dam sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone by stratigraphy determination of a 345-cm long sediment core, and related it to impact of the hydrological regime. Seasonality in absolute grain-size composition of suspended sediment was applied as a methodological basis for stratigraphic differentiation. Sedimentary laminations with relatively higher proportions of sandy fractions were ascribed to sedimentation during the dry season when proximal subsurface bank erosion dominates source contributions, while stratigraphy with a lower proportion of sandy fractions is possibly contributed by sedimentation during the wet season when distal upstream surface erosion prevails. Chronology determination revealed non-linear and high annual sedimentation rates ranging from 21.7 to 152.1 cm/yr. Although channel geomorphology may primarily determine the spatial extent of sedimentation, seasonal sedimentary dynamics was predominantly governed by the frequency, magnitude, and duration of flooding. Summer inundation by G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Contents lists available at ScienceDirectScience of the Total Environment j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / s c i t o t e n v natural floods with enhanced sediment loads produced from upstream basins induced higher sedimentation rates than water impoundment during the dry season when distal sediment supply was limited. We thus conclude that flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone, though little impact on total sediment retention rate was detected. Ongoing reductions in flow and sediment supply under human disturbance may have profound implications in affecting sedimentary equilibrium in the reservoir fluctuation zone. The results herein provide insights of how big dams have disrupted the sediment conveyance processes of large scale fluvial systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Tang

Bao

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

104

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“…As a large river, the Yangtze River is experiencing drastic hydrological changes [21][22][23], especially after the construction and operation of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD). A number of studies have indicated that the operation of the TGD has influenced the river discharge and sediment transport in the Yangtze River basin [24][25][26][27]. For example, Dai et al [28] examined the impacts of the TGD and serious drought on river discharge reduction in 2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Hydrologic Alterations Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Liuzhi

Ban

Wang

et al. 2014

Water

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Hydrologic regime plays a major role in structuring biotic diversity within river ecosystems by controlling key habitat conditions within the river channel and floodplain. Daily flow records from seven hydrological stations and the range of variability approach were utilized to investigate the variability and spatial pattern of the hydrologic alterations induced by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Results show that the impoundment of the TGD disturbed the hydrologic regime downstream and directly affected the streamflow variations. The rate of changes and the annual extreme conditions were more affected by the TGD, particularly the low-flow relevant parameters. The alterations in the hydrologic regime were mainly caused by the TGD storing water during early autumn and releasing water during winter and spring. The effects on spatial patterns decreased as the distance from the dam increased, which was mainly attributed to the inflows from large tributaries along the Yangtze River as well as the interaction with the two largest natural lakes (i.e., Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake). These hydrologic alterations not only break the natural balance of eco-flow regimes but also result in undesirable ecological effects, particularly in terms of habitat availability for the fish community.

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“…Connection of bronze gudgeon populations in the mainstem of the Yangtze River was impacted by construction of the Gezhouba Dam and the Three Gorges Dam (Leng et al 1984;Liu et al 1990;Zhuang and Cao 1999). The Gezhouba Dam (30°44 0 N, 110°16 0 E), located at Yichang City, was impounded in 1981 and is a low-head and run-of-the-river dam, 47 m in height (Li et al 2011), and cuts off movement corridors of bronze gudgeon, allowing only unidirectional downstream individual dispersal (Zhuang and Cao 1999). The Three Gorges Dam (30°50 0 N, 110°09 0 E), which is 38 km upstream of the Gezhouba Dam, was impounded in 2003 and is a high-head and storage dam, 185 m in height (Li et al 2011), and blocks bidirectional dispersal of bronze gudgeon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Gezhouba Dam (30°44 0 N, 110°16 0 E), located at Yichang City, was impounded in 1981 and is a low-head and run-of-the-river dam, 47 m in height (Li et al 2011), and cuts off movement corridors of bronze gudgeon, allowing only unidirectional downstream individual dispersal (Zhuang and Cao 1999). The Three Gorges Dam (30°50 0 N, 110°09 0 E), which is 38 km upstream of the Gezhouba Dam, was impounded in 2003 and is a high-head and storage dam, 185 m in height (Li et al 2011), and blocks bidirectional dispersal of bronze gudgeon. Potential impacts of these dams on the genetic diversity and structure of fish populations in the Yangtze River, including bronze gudgeon, have been a major concern.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microsatellite DNA variation among samples of bronze gudgeon, Coreius heterodon, in the mainstem of the Yangtze River, China

Cheng

et al. 2013

Ichthyol Res

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Bronze gudgeon, Coreius heterodon, is an endemic and economically important fish in the Yangtze River, whose abundance has declined dramatically because of dam construction, overfishing, and water pollution. The Gezhouba and Three Gorges dams block connection of the bronze gudgeon populations above and below the dams. We collected bronze gudgeon from four sites in the mainstem of the Yangtze River, with one site above the dams and three sites below the dams, and studied genetic structure within and among the samples using 12 microsatellite DNA markers. Differences in indexes of genetic diversity were not significant among all the samples. No recent dramatic decrease of effective population size was inferred for all the samples using the population bottleneck test. Overall and pairwise genetic differentiation showed no significant genetic differentiation. Membership proportions of three genetic clusters inferred using assignment analysis were not significantly different among the samples. These results suggested that the genetic diversity and structure of bronze gudgeon were uniform across the samples. However, the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium test, fixation index and linkage disequilibrium test indicated genetic subdivision of bronze gudgeon in the upper reach of the Three Gorges Dam. The present study and future studies including tributary samples will provide an important baseline of genetic diversity and population structure of bronze gudgeon in the Yangtze River, which is critical for monitoring and evaluating impacts of the large-scale dams on this species.

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Impacts of the Gezhouba and Three Gorges reservoirs on the sediment regime in the Yangtze River, China

Cited by 154 publications

References 29 publications

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Flow regulation manipulates contemporary seasonal sedimentary dynamics in the reservoir fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Assessment of Hydrologic Alterations Caused by the Three Gorges Dam in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River, China

Microsatellite DNA variation among samples of bronze gudgeon, Coreius heterodon, in the mainstem of the Yangtze River, China

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