Water Level Regulation for Eco-social Services Under Climate Change in Erhai Lake Over the Past 68 years in China

Te Cao,Xiaolin Zhang,Wenjing Ren,Wen Xiao,Qinghua Cai,Zihao Wen,Changbo Yuan,Yiwei Ma,Hao Wang,Leyi Ni,Hui Fu,Yu Cao

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2021.697694

Abstract

Water level plays a crucial role in the function and social services of lakes. Studies on historical changes in water level and its eco-social function can give insights into future water conservation and management. In this study, interannual and seasonal changes in the water level of Erhai Lake were analyzed from 1952 to 2019 to explore water level responses to human activities and climate change. The time series was divided into three distinct periods, i.e., 1952–1971, 1972–2003, and 2004–2019. Results showed that the water level and fluctuation amplitude differed among the different time periods, i.e., 1965.8 and 1.3 m (1952–1971), 1964.4 and 1.9 m (1972–2003), and 1965.2 and 1.2 m (1972–2003), respectively. The construction and operation of a hydroelectric power plant along the outlet river significantly decreased the water level and increased fluctuation amplitude in the 1972–2003 period. Since 2004, due to the implementation of local government water level management laws for Erhai Lake, the water level has remained relatively high, with moderate fluctuation amplitude. In addition, compared to the increase in water level amplitude in response to increased wet season (May–October) precipitation in the 1952–1971 period, response sensitivity increased in the 1972–2003 period, but became non-significant in the 2004–2019 period. In regard to the multi-timescale relationship between water level and precipitation, precipitation decreased by 89 mm in the 2004–2019 period compared with that from 1952 to 1971, and artificial water-level regulation resulted in a time-lag of 2, 3–3.5, and 4 months between water level and precipitation during the 1952–1971, 1972–2003, and 2004–2019 periods, respectively. The eco-social aspects of changes in water level are discussed below, and water level regulation from an ecological perspective is recommended to gain economic returns in the future.

Highlights

The hydrological regime plays a vital role in regulating the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems (Poff et al, 1997; Bunn and Arthington 2002; Coops et al, 2003)
The time series was divided into three distinct periods, i.e., 1952–1971, 1972–2003, and 2004–2019
The results showed that the construction and operation of a hydroelectric plant along the only outlet river greatly decreased the water level and increased its fluctuation amplitude during the 1972–2003 period

Summary

Introduction

The hydrological regime plays a vital role in regulating the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems (Poff et al, 1997; Bunn and Arthington 2002; Coops et al, 2003). It affects water flow, water level, nutrients, and temperature, which are closely related to biological activities and behaviors, such as spawning, rearing, and recruitment in fish (Copp 1989; Junk et al, 1989; Sparks 1995; Humphries et al, 1999) and growth and colonization of aquatic plants (Quennerstedt 1958; Zhao et al, 2012; Evtimova and Donohue 2016). In China, water resource management has begun to focus more on ecological concerns, as shown by the debate on whether to build a dam between the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake, the largest lake in its basin (Xie 2018)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion