The Operation of the Three Gorges Dam Alters Wetlands in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

Sun, Ge; Lei, Guangchun; Qu, Yanyan; Zhang, Chengxiang; He, Ke

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2020.576307

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…However, the TGD has greatly altered the river hydrology, biodiversity, and riparian habitats, and resulted in large‐scale habitat fragmentation, delta erosion, and biodiversity loss (G. Q. Sun et al., 2020; J. Y. Sun et al., 2020; Xie et al., 2007; Z. Yang et al., 2006).…”

Section: Methodology and Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Environmental Flows Assessment for Multi‐Guilds in the Riparian Habitats of the Yangtze River

Ban

Wang

et al. 2022

Water Resources Research

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Flow regime changes caused by existing hydraulic infrastructure (e.g., dams, and diversion weirs are evident in all continents of the earth, resulting in irreversible negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems (Nilsson et al., 2005). Over 58,000 large dams and 880,000 small dams are estimated to exist worldwide (J. Wang et al., 2021). The Yangtze River of China is the third longest and most water-rich river system in the world. It is also one of the rivers with the most abundant biodiversity in the world (Huang et al., 2016). However, over 50,000 dams have been built in the Yangtze basin (B. Y. Li et al., 2021). In particular, the huge Three Gorges Dam (TGD), built on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, has tremendous effects on riverine ecosystems in multiple ways, such as the drowning of the channel and riparian habitats within the impounded zone, the alteration of the hydrology and the thermal regime in downstream regions (B. Y. Li et al., 2021). Recently, the biological integrity of the Yangtze River has been degraded dramatically, prompting the Chinese government to issue the Yangtze River protection law for implementing remedial measures to restore the biodiversity of the Yangtze River. These conservation measures include sewage interception, forbidding sand dredging, and banning fishing (Han et al., 2021). Even so, improvement of the ecosystem remains at a limited scale as compared to the tremendous impact caused by the TGD. The optimal ecologically-friendly operation strategy of the TGD reservoir is critically needed for the restoration of the aquatic ecosystem in the Yangtze River (K. B. Chen et al., 2018).Recent research efforts have provided insight into how dams might be strategically operated to partially restore lost ecosystem functions and services (Owusu et al., 2020). The concept of environmental flows (EFs) has been

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Section: Methodology and Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Environmental Flows Assessment for Multi‐Guilds in the Riparian Habitats of the Yangtze River

Ban

Wang

et al. 2022

Water Resources Research

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“…The upstream dam constructions have greatly altered the river hydrology, channel evolution, biodiversity, and riparian habitats in the MYR, resulting in intensive channel erosion, riparian habitat loss, and biodiversity loss [ 9 , 17 ]. Due to the operation of the Three Gorges Project (TGP) in June 2003, the maximum water discharge at the inlet of the MYR (Yichang) has decreased from 31,500 to 61,700 m 3 s −1 in 1990–2002 to 27,400–58,400 m 3 s −1 in 2003–2020, accompanied by a 90% decrease in sediment amount.…”

Section: Study Area and Data Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Channel erosion and its impact on environmental flow of riparian habitat in the Middle Yangtze River

Deng,

Xia,

Zhu

et al. 2024

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

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“…The navigable ship lock system fragmented interconnected river networks. Habitat degradation of aquatic organisms in the riparian and floodplain has been promoted by channelization and slope hardening projects, which have blocked the natural links between river channels and flooded areas (Sun, Lei, Qu, Zhang, & He, 2020). The water flow pattern and velocity were also changed.…”

Section: Ecological Pressure Indexmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact assessment of waterway development on the socioeconomic conditions and ecosystem in the upper Yangtze River

et al. 2022

River Research & Apps

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The waterway from Chongqing to Yibin in the upper Yangtze River provides strong support for the socioeconomic development in Western China, while it also has a negative influence on the river ecosystem, such as river fragmentation, wetland disconnectivity, fish habitat, and biodiversity. Accurately characterizing the exploitation, economic efficiency, and ecological pressure of the waterway from Chongqing to Yibin is of great significance for the further development of the upper Yangtze River. In this study, based on statistical data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the waterway development, economic benefits, and ecological pressure of the waterway from Chongqing to Yibin were evaluated. The sustainability index (SI) was introduced to comprehensively assess the sustainability of waterways using the hierarchical model, which integrates the exploitation ratio (ER), economic efficiency index (EEI), and ecological pressure index (EPI). A relatively low ER (41.04%), a low consistency index (CI, 0.31), a high EEI (9037.18 USA$/gha), and a low EPI (0.33) yielded an SI of 0.70, indicating that the waterway from Chongqing to Yibin in the upper Yangtze River is in a sustainable development stage. Compared with the typical global Golden Inland Waterways, the waterway from Chongqing to Yibin still has great development potential under the prioritizing ecological protection.

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The Operation of the Three Gorges Dam Alters Wetlands in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

Cited by 13 publications

References 31 publications

Comprehensive Environmental Flows Assessment for Multi‐Guilds in the Riparian Habitats of the Yangtze River

Comprehensive Environmental Flows Assessment for Multi‐Guilds in the Riparian Habitats of the Yangtze River

Channel erosion and its impact on environmental flow of riparian habitat in the Middle Yangtze River

Impact assessment of waterway development on the socioeconomic conditions and ecosystem in the upper Yangtze River

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