A toolbox for assessing the ecological water requirements of groundwater dependent ecosystems in Australia

With population increase and economic growth, the flow regime of the Yangtze River has been altered to some extent by human activities, particularly dam construction. Dam-induced alterations in the flow regime of the Yangtze River will unavoidably influence water allocation among different water users and instream ecological water requirements may not be guaranteed during some months, particularly during phases of reservoir storing water. To assess the impacts of the Three Gorges reservoir operation on the downstream minimum instream ecological water requirements, this paper selected the Three Gorges reservoir and Yichang hydrological station below the reservoir as case study sites. On the basis of long-term time series of daily discharge data, the reservoir outflow was simulated under two water storing schemes and the degree to which the downstream minimum ecological flow was satisfied was computed. The results of this paper could provide references for the integrated management of the Yangtze River water resources and the assessment of dam-induced impacts on the Yangtze River ecosystem health.

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Estimated Forest Ecological Water Requirements in the Jinghe Watershed—Theory and Case Study

Frontiers of Forestry in China ◽

10.1007/s11461-005-0011-3 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 43-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yongtao He ◽

Qingwen Min ◽

Wenhua Li ◽

Guicai Li ◽

Liwei Jin

Keyword(s):

Water Requirements ◽

Ecological Water Requirements

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The Development and Ecological Responses of Fishways under the Legislative Trend of Environmental Flows in China

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.361-363.949 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 361-363 ◽

pp. 949-953

Author(s):

Chang Chun Chen ◽

La Chun Wang ◽

Jie Song ◽

Xue Zhang Cao

Keyword(s):

Environmental Flows ◽

Negative Influence ◽

Current Situation ◽

Ecological Systems ◽

Fish Migration ◽

Water Requirements ◽

Ecological Responses ◽

Historical Reason ◽

Ecological Water Requirements

Fishways play an important role in the mitigation of negative influence of hydraulic projects on fish, and can help maintain river connectivity and fish migration in river ecological systems. Based on the current situation of fishways construction in China, this paper demonstrated the legislative prospect of environmental flows, and analyzed the historical reason of depression of fishways. Focusing on adaptable measures of fishways development to legislative and ecological water requirements, four proposals were provided, which included strengthening the supervision, promoting the ecological integration, exploring the behavior of fish, and investigating the ecohydraulics of fishways.

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