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The Role of Dam to the River Water Environment

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecohydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2022) | Viewed by 14572

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Interests: ecohydrology; ecohydraulic; environmental flow; river management; regulated river; ecological modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Interests: ecohydrology; environmental water requirements; watershed management; rugulated rivers and lakes; ecological water diversion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Dams significantly contribute to social and economic development through flood control, water supply, power generation, navigation, recreation, etc., and also impact the river water environment mainly because of river corridor obstruction and hydrological alteration. Dams potentially affect hydrological regime, water quality, aquatic community, and species diversity. The environmental impact varies due to the dam size, reservoir operation strategy, and the natural characteristics of the regulated rivers. Understanding the features, laws, and mechanisms behind the roles of dams in the river water environment is critical to mitigating the adverse effects and improving the adaptive management strategies for sustainable development. This Special Issue will provide a platform for research that will clarify the role of the dam in the river water environment and provide specific implications for the stakeholders and governors to enhance dam management. We seek experimental, methodological, and application studies, and the topics covered by this Special Issue will include but are not limited to the following:

  • Ecohydrological effects of dams on the river and the associated lakes and wetlands;
  • Environmental water requirements of regulated rivers and the role of dams in satisfying the environmental water requirements;
  • The strategies for mitigating the negative environmental impact of dams and the sustainable management.

Prof. Dr. Yuankun Wang
Dr. Feng Huang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • dam impacts
  • ecohydrology
  • environmental flow
  • ecological operation
  • river habitat
  • ecohydraulic
  • hydroecology
  • water resource management
  • water environment

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4570 KiB  
Article
Ecological Risk Evaluation of Baihetan Dam Based on Fuzzy Hazard Quotient Model
by Feng Yan, Na Li, Zhigang Yang and Bao Qian
Water 2022, 14(17), 2694; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14172694 - 30 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2283
Abstract
To evaluate the variation in ecological risk induced by pollutants from the construction of Baihetan Dam, the largest hydropower station under construction in the world, this study proposes a fuzzy hazard quotient (HQ) model designed on the basis of triangular fuzzy number (TFN) [...] Read more.
To evaluate the variation in ecological risk induced by pollutants from the construction of Baihetan Dam, the largest hydropower station under construction in the world, this study proposes a fuzzy hazard quotient (HQ) model designed on the basis of triangular fuzzy number (TFN) theory. The fuzzy HQ model uses hazardous TFN to evaluate the ecological risk including uncertain observation data, and the transition TFN to analyze the variation in ecological risk before and after the dam construction. The results show the following: (i) The ecological risk of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) showed a marked increasing trend after the construction of the dam because this activity weakened the degradation ability of the water body. The chronic hazard of NH3-N was classified as “medium” grade and its acute hazard was “low” grade. (ii) The crucial acute hazard factor for the local aquatic ecosystem was copper (Cu) and the key chronic hazard factor was lead (Pb). (iii) After the construction of Baihetan Dam, both the long-term and short-term hazardous TFNs of Cu were classified as “medium” grade. The acute hazard of Pb belonged to “low” grade with high certainty, whereas its chronic hazard classification had uncertainties. Its long-term hazardous vectors upstream were {0.000, 0.928, 0.072}, whereas its long-term hazardous vectors downstream were {0.000, 0.108, 0.892}. (iv) Both of the ecological risks of Cu and Pb showed substantial decreasing trends after the construction of Baihetan Dam because the impounding effect of Baihetan Dam promoted the settlement of heavy metals with sediment. (v) The hazardous TFN method can be applied to perform an ecological risk evaluation that accounts for uncertainties in the observation data set, and the transition TFN method can analyze the variation in ecological risk with a small sample size. Therefore, the fuzzy HQ model is effective for the evaluation of ecological risk induced by dam construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Dam to the River Water Environment)
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13 pages, 2430 KiB  
Article
Impact of Water Fluctuation from a Dam on the Mekong River on the Hatching Success of Two Sandbar-Nesting Birds: A Case Study from Bueng Kan Province, Thailand
by Sarun Keithmaleesatti, Rongrong Angkaew and Mark Gregory Robson
Water 2022, 14(11), 1755; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111755 - 30 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2487
Abstract
Dam construction for the provision of hydropower and a stable water supply poses a major threat to freshwater biodiversity. Water fluctuation due to dam management has adverse effects on local people and biodiversity in downstream areas, including sandbar-nesting birds. The aim of this [...] Read more.
Dam construction for the provision of hydropower and a stable water supply poses a major threat to freshwater biodiversity. Water fluctuation due to dam management has adverse effects on local people and biodiversity in downstream areas, including sandbar-nesting birds. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of water levels controlled by upstream dams on the breeding success of two sandbar-nesting birds, the little ringed plover, Charadrius dubius, and little pratincole, Glareola lacteal, along the Mekong River in Bueng Kan Province, Thailand. During January–May 2018, we found 160 active nests of only two species, the little ringed plover (n = 26 nests, 288 exposure days) and the little pratincole (n = 134 nests, 890 exposure days). Their nest success rates were 19.49 ± 7.52% and 5.54 ± 1.61%, respectively. Predation was a major cause of nest failure for both species (n = 82), followed by flooding (n = 44). We found a significantly increased probability of nest flooding when the water level was higher than when the nest was initiated for those located closer to the water, particularly during March and April, when water levels fluctuated. Our results indicate that dams threaten sandbar-nesting species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Dam to the River Water Environment)
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12 pages, 21340 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Assessment of Climatic and Reservoir-Induced Effects on River Water Temperature Using Bayesian Network-Based Approach
by Pengcheng Xu, Fan Li, Yuankun Wang, Jianchun Qiu, Vijay P. Singh and Changsheng Zhang
Water 2022, 14(8), 1200; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081200 - 8 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1877
Abstract
River flow regulations and thermal regimes have been altered by human-induced interventions (such as dam construction) or climate change (such as air temperature variations). It is of great significance to adopt a well-performed data-driven model to accurately quantify the impact of human-induced interventions [...] Read more.
River flow regulations and thermal regimes have been altered by human-induced interventions (such as dam construction) or climate change (such as air temperature variations). It is of great significance to adopt a well-performed data-driven model to accurately quantify the impact of human-induced interventions or climate change over river water temperature (WT), which can help understand the underlying evolution mechanism of the river thermal regimes by dam operation or climate change. This research applied the Bayesian network-based model (BNM), which can easily identify inherently stronger associated variables with a target variable from multiple influencing variables to predict the daily WT and make a quantitative assessment of the effect produced by Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) construction in the Yangtze River, China. A comparative study between the proposed model and two other models was implemented to verify the predicted accuracy of the BNM. With the help of the BNM model, the impact of reservoir impoundment over water temperature was quantitatively analyzed by calculating the difference between reconstructed water temperature series and observed series during the post-TGR period. The construction of the TGR posed more impact on variations in WT than the impact induced by the climate change according to results. The effect of TGR on WT can be concluded as follows: WT from October to January in post-TGR showed a remarkable warming tendency and an increase in released warmer water volumes than before, while WT showed a cooling tendency during March to June because of the hysteretic effect of WT response to increasing air temperature. The proposed BNM model shows great potential for WT prediction and ecological risk management of rivers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Dam to the River Water Environment)
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16 pages, 2334 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Alterations of the Hydrological Situation and Causes of River Runoff in the Min River, China
by Wenxian Guo, Haotong Zhou, Xuyang Jiao, Lintong Huang and Hongxiang Wang
Water 2022, 14(7), 1093; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071093 - 30 Mar 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2710
Abstract
Construction of water conservancy projects has changed the hydrological situation of rivers and has an essential impact on river ecosystems. The influence modes of different factors on runoff alterations are discussed to improve the development and utilization of water resources and promote ecological [...] Read more.
Construction of water conservancy projects has changed the hydrological situation of rivers and has an essential impact on river ecosystems. The influence modes of different factors on runoff alterations are discussed to improve the development and utilization of water resources and promote ecological benefits. The ecological hydrological indicator change range method (IHA–RVA) and the hydrological alteration degree method were integrated to evaluate the hydrological situation of the Min River in China. Based on six Budyko hypothesis formulas, the rates of contribution of climate change and human activities to runoff change are quantitatively analyzed. The results show that (1) the runoff of the Min River basin showed a significant decreasing trend from 1960 to 2019 and a sudden alteration around 1993; (2) the overall alteration in runoff conditions was 45% moderate and the overall alteration in precipitation was 37% moderate; (3) precipitation and potential evapotranspiration also showed a decreasing trend within the same period but the overall trend was not significant; (4) the contribution of climate variability to runoff alterations is 30.2% and the contribution of human activities to runoff alterations is 69.8%; human activities are the dominant factor affecting the alteration of the runoff situation in the Min River basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Dam to the River Water Environment)
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15 pages, 2759 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Ions Composition and Chemical Weathering of Tributary in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region: The Perspective of Stratified Water Sample from Xiaojiang River
by Di Wang, Guilin Han, Bogen Li, Mingming Hu, Yuchun Wang, Jinke Liu, Jie Zeng and Xiaoqiang Li
Water 2022, 14(3), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030379 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3633
Abstract
River water chemistry offers information on watershed weathering and responds to the global carbon cycle. Watershed weathering processes and water chemistry in stratified water are still unclear in Xiaojiang River, as a major tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) which is the [...] Read more.
River water chemistry offers information on watershed weathering and responds to the global carbon cycle. Watershed weathering processes and water chemistry in stratified water are still unclear in Xiaojiang River, as a major tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) which is the largest reservoir in the world. Major ions of river water at different depths were measured to reveal the ionic composition and chemical weathering properties by principal component analysis and stoichiometry in Xiaojiang River. Ca2+−HCO3 dominated the hydrochemical facies of river. Surface river water had the lowest total dissolved solid (146 mg/L) compared to other layers of water. According to principal component analysis, the major ions were divided into two principal components. PC1 was the weathering end-member of rocks, including the main ions except K+ and NO3–N, and PC2 may be the mixed end-member of atmospheric input and anthropogenic input. From stoichiometry, carbonate weathering dominated the cationic composition, with a contribution ratio of 56.7%, whereas atmospheric input (15.2%) and silicates weathering (13.9%) had similar extent of contribution. Compared with other major tributaries of TGR, Xiaojiang had more intense chemical weathering processes. The weathering rates of carbonates and silicates were 19.33 ± 0.68 ton/km2/year and 3.56 ± 0.58 ton/km2/year, respectively. Sulfuric acid as a proton may have participated less in the weathering processes of Xiaojiang River. The CO2 consumption budgets for silicates and carbonates weathering were 0.8 ± 0.2 × 109 mol/year and 2.8 ± 0.2 × 109 mol/year, respectively. These results enrich the watershed weathering information of TGR tributaries and provide data support for understanding the global carbon cycle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Role of Dam to the River Water Environment)
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