Abstract
The possible negative impacts of flow regulation on riparian zone conditions can be observed due to the disruption of the natural flow regime in reservoirs. In spite of considerable literature on the qualitative effects of external disturbances on riparian health indicators (RHIs), quantitative evaluations of such changes induced by pressure are rare in the literature. Our study evaluated the effects of pressure indicators on the RHIs, and the responses of RHIs relevant to the riparian zones of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR), China, by using the field-based approach. This paper is a component of a large project—rapid appraisal of riparian condition for the TGDR, China. The analysis has compared pressures (13 indicators) and RHIs (27 indicators) determined from the transects (259) identified throughout the TGDR (within 15 counties) by categorizing into upstream, midstream, and downstream. By using basic statistical techniques (Kruskal-Wallis tests and Pearson’s correlation), pressure indicators were found to significantly differently influence RHIs for the categorized three sections of the riparian zones of the TGDR. The correlation analysis confirmed that the pressure indicators correlated (range of r = −0.496–0.971) with the RHIs (enlisted as habitat, plant cover, regeneration, erosion, and exotic parameters). Moreover, pressure indicators were found to have a highly significant influence on erosion and habitat parameters, but moderate effects on plant cover, exotic and regeneration parameters. In addition, the highest relative effect of the pressure indicators was detected in the upstream transects, whereas the lowest was in the downstream transects. Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster analysis also confirmed the substantial dissimilarity in the upstream transects, whereas significant similarities were identified between midstream and downstream transects. These results may be particularly important in the planning stages, to help administrators and planners form better priorities and treatments for reach-scale conservation and restoration of wide-ranging riparian zones.
Highlights
Conservation is a key approach for protecting the biodiversity and ecosystem functions of the riparian zones [1]
Habitat scores derived from three riparian health indicators (RHIs) were 12.50–17.28% for upstream transects, 16.57–19.85%
The results indicated that riparian zone conditions, including habitat, plant cover, regeneration, regeneration, erosion, and exotic subsets, were the the main main factors affecting the the pattern pattern of of conditional conditional distribution distribution within the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR)
Summary
Conservation is a key approach for protecting the biodiversity and ecosystem functions of the riparian zones [1]. The riparian zone connects terrestrial and aquatic regions [3,4] These are extremely fragile ecosystems influenced by hydrology, geomorphology and human factors [5,6]. Substantial adverse effects of flow regulation on riparian zone conditions occur due to the disruption of natural flow within the river systems [8]. Such negative impacts of a dam construction can be measured based on changes in riparian health indicators (RHIs). There is a need to measure dam effects after regular time intervals [13,14] In this regard, it is critical to assess the effectiveness of such projects and the development of regulated rivers on the riparian zones
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