Abstract
Flow regulation by large dams has transformed the freshwater and floodplain ecosystems of the Middle Amur River basin in Northeast Asia, and negatively impacted the biodiversity and fisheries. This study aimed to develop environmental flow recommendations for the Zeya and Bureya rivers based on past flow rate records. The recommended floodplain inundation by environmental flow releases from the Zeya reservoir are currently impracticable due to technical reasons. Therefore, the importance of preserving the free-flowing tributaries of the Zeya River increases. Future technical improvements for implementing environmental flow releases at the Zeya dam would improve dam management regulation during large floods. The recommendations developed for environmental flow releases from reservoirs on the Bureya River should help to preserve the important Ramsar wetlands which provide habitats for endangered bird species while avoiding flooding of settlements. The results emphasize the importance of considering environmental flow during the early stages of dam planning and the need to enhance the role of environmental flow in water management planning.
Highlights
The operation of dams has led to changes in flow regimes of many rivers in the world [3,4,5,6] including in Russia [7,8,9,10,11], and has depleted and changed the species composition of rivers, which makes freshwater ecosystems unstable to the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors
The environmental flow requirements for the Zeya River basin were estimated according to the methodological approaches for determining surface water withdrawal and environmental flow [73,74], which is the main approach applied in Russia for assessing environmental flow
We interpret our findings in order to develop recommendations forinreducing the negative impact of flow regulation and protecting freshwater and floodplain ecosystems the Amur impact of flow regulation and protecting freshwater and floodplain ecosystems in the Amur River
Summary
The Urgent Need for Restoring Freshwater Biodiversity. The operation of dams has led to changes in flow regimes of many rivers in the world [3,4,5,6] including in Russia [7,8,9,10,11], and has depleted and changed the species composition of rivers, which makes freshwater ecosystems unstable to the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors. Irreversible water withdrawal and water pollution, water operation without effective means of protection of freshwater ecosystems, irrigation, and poaching have served as additional factors contributing to a sharp decline in freshwater biodiversity [12]. Urgent measures should be adopted to address freshwater biodiversity loss [13]. The conservation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems should be a key component of sustainable water resources management, while biological productivity should be
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