Abstract
The main objective of this study was to investigate ecologically healthy regions near a dam reservoir. This study developed a model for assessing habitat suitability as a proxy for the ecological value of reservoirs. Three main factors comprising nine assessment variables were selected and classified as having a habitat suitability (HS) between 0 and 1: (1) geomorphic factors of altitude, slope steepness, and slope aspect; (2) vegetation factors of forest physiognomy, vegetation type, and tree age; and (3) ecological factors of land cover, ecological quality index, and environmental conservation value assessment. The spatial distribution of the nine HS indices was determined using geographic information systems and combined into one HS index value to determine ecologically healthy regions. The assessment model was applied to areas surrounding the Hantan River Dam, South Korea. To verify the model, wildlife location data from the national ecosystem survey of the Ministry of Environment were used. Areas with an HS index between 0.73 and 1 were found to contain 72% of observed wildlife locations. Ecologically healthy areas were identified by adding the indices of each variable. The methods shown here will be useful for establishing ecological restoration plans for dam reservoirs in South Korea.
Highlights
The primary influence of dam construction is on the surrounding environment and ecosystem of the river
This study presented the impacts of geomorphic, vegetation, and ecological variables to an ecologically healthy area in the Hantan River Dam reservoir, South Korea, because dam construction affects those variables
Our method can be applied to other cases, where the standardized habitat suitability (HS) index can be used to assess ecologically healthy areas near dam reservoirs
Summary
The primary influence of dam construction is on the surrounding environment and ecosystem of the river. In South Korea, there have been only a few river ecosystem evaluations or wetland function assessments [5,6]. These assessment methods quantitatively evaluate the current ecosystem, but quantifying the effects of dam construction on the ecosystem remains difficult. Given the negative effects of dams, appropriate planning for ecological restoration and adjustment is required to ameliorate the damage [7,8]. To plan for effective dam reservoir ecological restoration in the future, complementary data should be gathered, including on factors needed for ecological restoration. The type and location of the most severe damage should be predicted quantitatively; standardized restoration plans should not be adjusted to each individual dam
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