A Comprehensive Study of the Impact of Large-Scale Landscape Pattern Changes on the Watershed Ecosystem

Hai Liu,Heng Di,Yuefei Huang,Liang Zheng,Yuan Zhang

doi:10.3390/w13101361

Abstract

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWD) is the world’s largest inter-basin water diversion project, and the Danjiangkou Reservoir is a water source of the middle route project of the SNWD. Dynamic monitoring of ecological environment changes in Danjiangkou Water source area can provide theoretical support for reservoir water storage security and ecosystem protection. In this study, the water storage of Danjiangkou reservoir was estimated and its dynamic change was analyzed. On this basis, the changes of landscape pattern and ecosystem services value caused by the SNWD project were analyzed. The results show that the reservoir storage presented an obvious growth trend from 2000 to 2019, especially after the middle route of the SNWD was opened in 2014. After the implementation of the SNWD project, the vegetation degradation in Danjiangkou reservoir area was obvious, which is mainly related to the expansion of construction land. The ecosystem service value of the Danjiangkou Reservoir was mainly determined by the water conservation supply value and climate regulation value. After the implementation of the SNWD project, the values of water conservation and supply, climate regulation, and hydropower generation showed an increasing trend, while the values of fixing carbon and releasing oxygen, and organic matter production showed a decreasing trend.

Highlights

Recent studies have indicated that new infrastructure in urban areas may significantly accelerate the urban development and, the water demand [1]
Though some soft measures can help to cope with the increasing water demand [1,2], inevitably, large-scale projects are eventually required to leverage and support the urban development beyond a certain point
We propose a practical method for estimating water storage and its dynamics based on remote sensing images

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The available freshwater resources on the Earth are unevenly distributed in time and space due to differences in geographical locations and climate conditions. With the increase in population and the rapid development of the social economy, the demand for water in many areas is increasing, which aggravates the imbalance between the supply and demand of water resources. Recent studies have indicated that new infrastructure in urban areas may significantly accelerate the urban development and, the water demand [1]. Though some soft measures can help to cope with the increasing water demand [1,2], inevitably, large-scale projects are eventually required to leverage and support the urban development beyond a certain point

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion