LUCC Impact on Sediment Loads in Subtropical Rainy Areas

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

LUCC Impact on Sediment Loads in Subtropical Rainy Areas CARRS-8 03/02/2006 5:51 PM Page 319 LUCC Impact on Sediment Loads in Subtropical Rainy Areas Xiaoling Chen, Shuming Bao, Hui Li, Xiaobin Cai, Peng Guo, Zhongyi Wu, Weijuan Fu, and Hongmei Zhao Abstract the world also obviously showed that the erosion rates were In this paper, we evaluate the impacts of land-use/cover sensitive to land-use and related human activities (Walling, changes (LUCC) on sediment loads at the outlets of five sub- 1999). Land-use/cover change (LUCC) can alter the velocity of watersheds of the Poyang Lake watershed by integrating water, whether in the form of streams or overland flow, by remote sensing and GIS with statistical analysis. The inten- changing slope or gradient and the roughness encountered sively farmed watershed is characterized by a mountainous by the flow (Wardrop and Brooks, 1998), which affect and hilly topography and a rainy climate. The primary goal sediment loads, and consequently impact the downstream of this paper is to help a better understanding of land- ecosystem. However, there is limited information available use/cover change and its driving forces. We discuss spatio- regarding the effect of land-use/cover change on the sedi- temporal variations in rainfall and sediment loads and ment loads. identify factors contributing to those variations, analyze the State-of-the-art methodologies have recently been devel- comprehensive impacts of land-use/cover change on chang- oped to enhance land-use/cover change detection, including ing climate and human activities, and conclude that the remote sensing and GIS techniques. Currently, satellite changing rates of forest cover and climate regimes are imagery possesses the capacity to detect land-use/cover primary factors for sediment discharges in the Poyang Lake change on various scales and can also derive many biophysi- watershed. Our results suggest that the eco-system still have cal parameters, allowing for spatial and temporal compar- large capacities to support human activities in the area. isons (Carlson and Arthur, 2000). Computer simulation models are becoming increasingly popular in predicting soil loss for various land-use and management practices (Bhuyan Introduction et al., 2002). This study is aimed at presenting a change It is well known that there is a complex interaction among detection result of land-use/cover change in the sub-tropical climate, land-use, vegetation cover density, erosion rates, and rainy area, taking the Poyang Lake watershed occurring sediment loads in the watershed. As an important factor for around 10-year interval in the 1990s as a case. The driving water quality, sediment not only affects the optical property of forces for those changes were then identified. The relation- water but acts as a carrier of pollutants. The previous studies ship between rainfall and sediment discharges showed the suggested that land-use can affect the soil erodibility and impact of land-use/cover change on sediments in the water- sediment source (Woodward and Foster, 1997) as well as the shed. The analysis of land-use/cover change and sediment amount of sediments generated by soil erosion (Yang, 2004). discharges in the Poyang Lake watershed would be helpful Human activities were proven to make its land-use/cover to reveal the trend of land-use/cover change, and then to patterns change more rapidly, and thus brought different provide reference background information for remote sensing impacts on bio-physical processes (Chakrapani, 2005; Chen in the cloudy and rainy areas. et al., 2005; Restrepo and Syvitski, 2006). Rapid land-use/cover changes may affect both water and sediment discharges. The effect of land-use and development is vital in understanding Study Area Description the global sediment flux, and the regional variations (Syvitski, The study area, the Poyang Lake watershed, is located to the 2003). After human settlement effects, climate shifts are often south of middle reach of the Yangtze River in the monsoon the major driving factor on sediment discharges. The previous zone of East Asia. The area of the watershed is 162.2 ϫ 103 study showed that the land-use was probably the dominant km2, taking up 97 percent of Jiangxi provincial territory, control on particulate fluxes in areas of low relief and large- which lies at 113°25ЈE to 118°29ЈE, and 24°29ЈN to 30°05ЈN. scale urbanization, while the mountainous regions were likely The nearly identical boundaries of natural watershed and to be dominated by natural processes (Wasson, 1996). the provincial administrative units bring a greatly advantage The results obtained from erosion plot experiments and for integrating data analysis related to biophysical factors and experimental watershed studies in many different areas of anthropogenic driving forces collecting from both natural and administrative units. The topography in the Poyang Lake watershed mainly consists of mountainous and hilly red soil areas. The Xiaoling Chen and Shuming Bao are with the Key Lab of elevation ranges from less than 10 m to around 2,000 m Poyang Lake Ecological Environment and Resource Develop- ment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, 330022 ([email protected]). Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing Vol. 73, No. 3, March 2007, pp. 319–327. Hui Li, Xiaobin Cai, Peng Guo, Zhongyi Wu, Weijuan Fu, and Hongmei Zhao are with the State Key Laboratory of 0099-1112/07/7303–0319/$3.00/0 Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote © 2007 American Society for Photogrammetry Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China, 430079. and Remote Sensing PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING March 2007 319 CARRS-8 03/02/2006 5:51 PM Page 320 above sea level, and the watershed consists of 36 percent TABLE 1. SUBCATCHMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF POYANG LAKE WATERSHED mountainous area, 42 percent hilly area, 14.7 percent flat Sub- Gauge Area Average and upland area, and 7.3 percent water. The mountainous 2 3 area is mostly covered by forest, brush and grass, and the catchment River Station (km ) SSC (kg/m ) hilly area consists of natural vegetation, barren land, and Gan Gan River WaiZhou 80948 0.0978 cropland, respectively. The mountainous and hilly areas Xin Xin River MeiGang 15535 0.0693 contribute most sediment loads due to the soil erosion in Xiu Liao River WanJiaBu 3548 0.0693 the watershed. The flat and upland area is mostly used as Rao Chang River DuFengKeng 5013 0.0372 cropland and built-up area where much more human AnLe River HuShan 6374 0.0389 activities have been concentrated. The water mainly consists Fu FuRiver LiJiaDu 15811 0.0673 of the Poyang Lake and its five rivers, and Poyang Lake is the largest fresh water lake in China with an important impact on Jiangxi Province and the lower Yangtze River sub-watershed is the largest, and its area is almost as twofold regions, and has been designated by WWF as one of the as the sum of other four sub-watersheds (Table 1). The globally important ecological areas. Poyang Lake is charac- Gan River has the greatest amount of suspended sediment terized by its dramatic seasonal fluctuation of water level, concentration (SSC) and contributed the most water dis- which creates a vast area of wetland surrounding this big charges and sediment loads in the Poyang Lake watershed. lake (Figure 1). The area of the lake greatly varies with the The flooding period for the rivers in the Poyang Lake fluctuation of its water level. The water level rises during watershed mainly lasts from April to July, and the highest the flood period and then the water surface suddenly 2 water discharge and water level typically appear in May or expands, with a water surface area of around 3,210 km . June (Zhang et al., 2004). And, it drops at low water with its bottomland becoming The Poyang lake watershed belongs to a warm, humid exposed out; only several wandering watercourses remain subtropical climate which extends along the south to north during the dry period with a water surface area of about 2 direction, with 500 km for its widest west to east direction 146 km . and 620 km for its longest north to south direction. The In this watershed, the annual mean runoff of the 3 annual rainfall ranges from 1,341 mm to 1,940 mm, with 50 watershed is 152.5 billion m , accounting for 16.3 percent percent of it concentrated from April to June, and May and of the Yangtze River watershed. Surface runoff mainly runs June usually contributing the most monthly precipitation in a to the Poyang Lake, and the Poyang Lake holds water from year, ranging from 200 mm to 350 mm per month; even more five rivers: Gan River, Fu River, Xin River, Rao River, and than 700 mm in some extreme months. The spatial distribu- Xiu River which empty into the Yangtze River. Five sub- tion of rainfall often varies, and more precipitation usually watersheds consisting of the above five rivers constitute falls in the south, east, and mountainous area in the water- the Poyang Lake watershed. Among them, the Gan River shed. The mild climate, abundant rainfall and almost synchronism of water and heat are suitable to vegetation growth, which encourages agricultural productivity and other related human activities. Data and Methods Data and Analysis The study was carried out with data from 21 years of daily rainfall at 22 meteorological stations, water discharge, and sediment loads at five gauge stations in the Poyang Lake watershed. Water flow in the river is a major factor influenc- ing sediment loads in the river, which had a significant correlation with rainfall. The monsoon season, which accounts for 85 percent to 95 percent of total annual rainfall in the watershed, is the main source of water flow in the river.
Recommended publications
  • Using Stable Isotopes to Unravel and Predict the Origins of Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax Carbo Sinensis) Overwintering at Kinmen
    RAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 2008; 22: 1235–1244 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/rcm.3487 Using stable isotopes to unravel and predict the origins of great cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) overwintering at Kinmen Yuan-Mou Chang1y, Kent A. Hatch1*,y, Tzung-Su Ding2**,y, Dennis L. Eggett3, Hsiao-Wei Yuan2 and Beverly L. Roeder1 1Department of Biology, Brigham Young University, 401 WIDB, Provo, UT 84602-5181, USA 2School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106, Taiwan 3Department of Statistics, Brigham Young University, 230 TMCB, Provo, UT 84602-5181, USA Received 16 July 2007; Revised 1 February 2008; Accepted 4 February 2008 The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health have called for a better understanding of the role that migrating birds may play in spreading H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Bird banding, traditionally used in studies of migration, is limited by low recapture rates. Telemetry can only be applied to larger species and a limited number of birds. We show that analyses of multiple stable isotopes (d13C, d15N, d18O and dD) can provide an understanding of the number of breeding populations represented at large congregations of wintering birds, probable locations of these breeding populations, and which breeding populations do not contribute migrants to a wintering site. As Asia is thought to be the origin of many HPAI strains and the center of their evolution, and as bird migration is poorly understood in this part of the world, we recommend that, in addition to banding, satellite, and VHF telemetry, the stable isotope analysis of migration patterns should become a part of long-term surveillance studies.
    [Show full text]
  • World Bank Document
    Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Public Disclosure Authorized Report No: 42 124-CN PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT ON A PROPOSED LOAN Public Disclosure Authorized IN THE AMOUNT OF US$lOO MILLION TO THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR A JIANGXI SHIHUTANG NAVIGATION AND HYDROPOWER COMPLEX PROJECT Public Disclosure Authorized August 14,2008 China and Mongolia Sustainable Development Unit Sustainable Development Department East Asia and Pacific Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. Public Disclosure Authorized CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective January 28,2008) CurrencyUnit = RMB RMB1 = US$O.1389 US$1 = RMB7.2 FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS cccc China Communications Construction Company CDM Clean Development Mechanism CFU Carbon Finance Unit CGC China Guodian Corporation CPS Country Partnership Strategy CQS Selection Based on Consultants’ Qualifications DA Designated Account DP Displaced Person DSP Dam Safety Panel DWTIdwt Deadweight Tons EA Environmental Assessment EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EIRR Economic Internal Rate of Return EMP Environment Management Plan ENPV Economic Net Present Value EPP Emergency Preparedness Plan FM Financial Management FMS Financial Management Specialist FS Feasibility Study FSL Fixed Spread Loan FSR Feasibility Study Report FYP Five-Year Plan GDP Gross Domestic Product GOC Government
    [Show full text]
  • China's Looming Water Crisis
    CHINADIALOGUE APRIL 2018 (IMAGE: ZHAOJIANKANG) CHINA’S LOOMING WATER CRISIS Charlie Parton Editors Chris Davy Tang Damin Charlotte Middlehurst Production Huang Lushan Translation Estelle With special thanks to China Water Risk CHINADIALOGUE Suite 306 Grayston Centre 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT, UK www.chinadialogue.net CONTENTS Introduction 5 How serious is the problem? 6 The problem is exacerbated by pollution and inefficient use 9 Technical solutions are not sufficient to solve shortages 10 What are the consequences and when might they hit? 14 What is the government doing? 16 What is the government not doing and should be doing? 19 Can Xi Jinping stave off a water crisis? 25 Global implications 28 Global opportunities 30 Annex - Some facts about the water situation in China 32 About the author 37 4 | CHINA’S LOOMING WATER CRISIS SOUTH-NORTH WATER TRANSFER PROJECT (IMAGE: SNWTP OFFICIAL SITE) 5 | CHINA’S LOOMING WATER CRISIS INTRODUCTION Optimism or pessimism about the future success of Xi Jinping’s new era may be in the mind of the beholder. The optimist will point to the Party’s past record of adaptability and problem solving; the pessimist will point out that no longer are the interests of reform pointing in the same directions as the interests of Party cadres, and certainly not of some still powerful vested interests. But whether China muddles or triumphs through, few are predict- ing that problems such as debt, overcapacity, housing bubbles, economic rebalancing, the sheer cost of providing social security and services to 1.4 billion people will cause severe economic disruption or the collapse of Chi- na.
    [Show full text]
  • Contingent Valuation of Yangtze Finless Porpoises in Poyang Lake, China Dong, Yanyan
    Contingent Valuation of Yangtze Finless Porpoises in Poyang Lake, China An der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig eingereichte DISSERTATION zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktor der Wirtschaftswissenschaft (Dr. rer. pol.) vorgelegt von Yanyan Dong Master der Ingenieurwissenschaft. Leipzig, im September 2010 Acknowledgements This study has been conducted during my stay at the Department of Economics at the Helmholtz Center for Environmental research from September 2007 to December 2010. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the following people: First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Dr. Bernd Hansjürgens for his supervision and guidance. With his kind help, I received the precious chance to do my PhD study in UFZ. Also I have been receiving his continuous support during the entire time of my research stay. He provides lots of thorough and constructive suggestions on my dissertation. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor Dr. -Ing. Rober Holländer for his willingness to supervise me and his continuous support so that I can deliver my thesis at the University of Leipzig. Thirdly, I am heartily thankful to Dr. Nele Lienhoop, who helped me a lot complete the writing of this dissertation. She was always there to meet and talk about my ideas and to ask me good questions to help me. Furthermore, there are lots of other people who I would like to thank: Ms. Sara Herkle provided the survey data collected in Leipzig and Halle, Germany. Without these data, my thesis could not have been completed. It is my great honor to thank Professor John B.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatial-Temporal Changes in River Runoff and Terrestrial Ecosystem Water Retention Under 1.5℃ and 2℃ Warming Scenarios Across China
    Earth Syst. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-2017-96 Manuscript under review for journal Earth Syst. Dynam. Discussion started: 14 November 2017 c Author(s) 2017. CC BY 4.0 License. Spatial-temporal changes in river runoff and terrestrial ecosystem water retention under 1.5℃ and 2℃ warming scenarios across China Ran Zhai1,2, Fulu Tao1,2,3,*,Zhihui Xu4 5 1 Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China 2 College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China 3 Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland 4 Information Center of Yellow River Conservancy Commission, Zhengzhou 450004, China 10 Correspondence to: Fulu Tao ([email protected]) Abstract. The Paris Agreement set a long-term temperature goal of holding the global average temperature increase to below 2.0℃ above pre-industrial levels, and pursuing efforts to limit this to 1.5℃, it is therefore important to understand the impacts of climate change under 1.5℃ and 2.0℃ warming scenarios for climate adaptation and mitigation. Here, climate scenarios by four Global Circulation Models (GCMs) for the baseline (2006-2015), 1.5℃ and 2.0℃ warming scenarios (2106-2115) were 15 used to drive the validated Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model to investigate the impacts of global warming on river runoff and Terrestrial Ecosystem Water Retention (TEWR) in China. The trends in annual mean temperature, precipitation, river runoff and TEWR were analysed at the grid and basin scale.
    [Show full text]
  • China Environment Series 8 ISSUE 8, 2006
    China EnvironmEnt SEries 8 iSSUE 8, 2006 Legal Advocacy in Environmental Public Participation Evolving Civil Society: From Environment to Health Reducing China’s Thirst for Foreign Oil Spurring Innovations for Clean Energy and Water Protection Water Conflict Resolution Energy: China and the North American Response Plus: Notes From the Field, Spotlight on NGOs EDITOR Jennifer L. Turner MANAGING EDITOR Juli S. Kim SPECIAL REPORT CO-EDITOR Timothy Hildebrandt PRODUCTION EDITORS Lianne Hepler and Jeremy Swanston RESEARCH ASSISTANTS Xixi Chen, Baohua Yan, and Louise Yeung ECSP STAFF Karin R. Bencala, Gib Clarke, Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Juli S. Kim, Meaghan Parker, Sean Peoples, Jennifer L. Turner, Alison Williams COVER PHOTO A view of the Nu River in Yunnan Province. © Ma Jun China EnvironmEnt SEries iSSUE 8, 2006 The China Environment Forum For nine years, the China Environment Forum—a sub-project within the Environmental Change and Security Program—has been active in creating programming, exchanges, and publications to encour- age dialogue among U.S., Chinese, and other Asian scholars, policymakers, businesses, and nongov- ernmental organizations on environmental and energy challenges in China. The China Environment Forum regularly brings together experts with diverse backgrounds and affiliations from the fields of environmental protection, China studies, energy, U.S. foreign policy, economics, and rural develop- ment. Through monthly meetings and the annual China Environment Series, the China Environment Forum aims to identify the most important environmental and sustainable development issues in China and explore creative ideas and opportunities for governmental and nongovernmental cooperation. The Wilson Center’s Asia Program periodically cosponsors meetings with the China Environment Forum.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Resource Competition in the Brahmaputra River Basin: China, India, and Bangladesh Nilanthi Samaranayake, Satu Limaye, and Joel Wuthnow
    Water Resource Competition in the Brahmaputra River Basin: China, India, and Bangladesh Nilanthi Samaranayake, Satu Limaye, and Joel Wuthnow May 2016 Distribution unlimited This document represents the best opinion of CNA at the time of issue. Distribution Distribution unlimited. Specific authority contracting number: 14-106755-000-INP. For questions or comments about this study, contact Nilanthi Samaranayake at [email protected] Cover Photography: Brahmaputra River, India: people crossing the Brahmaputra River at six in the morning. Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest, "Brahmaputra River, India," Maria Stenzel / National Geographic Society / Universal Images Group Rights Managed / For Education Use Only, http://quest.eb.com/search/137_3139899/1/137_3139899/cite. Approved by: May 2016 Ken E Gause, Director International Affairs Group Center for Strategic Studies Copyright © 2016 CNA Abstract The Brahmaputra River originates in China and runs through India and Bangladesh. China and India have fought a war over contested territory through which the river flows, and Bangladesh faces human security pressures in this basin that will be magnified by upstream river practices. Controversial dam-building activities and water diversion plans could threaten regional stability; yet, no bilateral or multilateral water management accord exists in the Brahmaputra basin. This project, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, provides greater understanding of the equities and drivers fueling water insecurity in the Brahmaputra River basin. After conducting research in Dhaka, New Delhi, and Beijing, CNA offers recommendations for key stakeholders to consider at the subnational, bilateral, and multilateral levels to increase cooperation in the basin. These findings lay the foundation for policymakers in China, India, and Bangladesh to discuss steps that help manage and resolve Brahmaputra resource competition, thereby strengthening regional security.
    [Show full text]
  • Using Species Distribution Model to Estimate the Wintering Population Size of the Endangered Scaly-Sided Merganser in China
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Using Species Distribution Model to Estimate the Wintering Population Size of the Endangered Scaly-Sided Merganser in China Qing Zeng1, Yamian Zhang1, Gongqi Sun1, Hairui Duo1, Li Wen1,2, Guangchun Lei1* 1 School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China, 2 Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, Australia * [email protected] Abstract Scaly-sided Merganser is a globally endangered species restricted to eastern Asia. Estimat- ing its population is difficult and considerable gap exists between populations at its breeding grounds and wintering sites. In this study, we built a species distribution model (SDM) using OPEN ACCESS Maxent with presence-only data to predict the potential wintering habitat for Scaly-sided Citation: Zeng Q, Zhang Y, Sun G, Duo H, Wen L, Merganser in China. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) method Lei G (2015) Using Species Distribution Model to Estimate the Wintering Population Size of the suggests high predictive power of the model (training and testing AUC were 0.97 and 0.96 Endangered Scaly-Sided Merganser in China. PLoS respectively). The most significant environmental variables included annual mean tempera- ONE 10(2): e0117307. doi:10.1371/journal. ture, mean temperature of coldest quarter, minimum temperature of coldest month and pre- pone.0117307 cipitation of driest quarter. Suitable conditions for Scaly-sided Merganser are predicted in Academic Editor: Stefan Lötters, Trier University, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, especially in Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei GERMANY Provinces. The predicted suitable habitat embraces 6,984 km of river. Based on survey re- Received: May 28, 2014 sults from three consecutive winters (2010–2012) and previous studies, we estimated that Accepted: December 23, 2014 the entire wintering population of Scaly-sided Merganser in China to be 3,561 ± 478 individ- Published: February 3, 2015 uals, which is consistent with estimate in its breeding ground.
    [Show full text]
  • Migratory Bird Sanctuaries Along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I)
    ASIA / PACIFIC MIGRATORY BIRD SANCTUARIES ALONG THE COAST OF YELLOW SEA-BOHAI GULF OF CHINA (PHASE I) CHINA Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) habitat, Tiaozini © IUCN / Sonali Ghosh China – Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) WORLD HERITAGE NOMINATION – IUCN TECHNICAL EVALUATION MIGRATORY BIRD SANCTUARIES ALONG THE COAST OF YELLOW SEA- BOHAI-GULF OF CHINA (PHASE I) (CHINA) – ID N° 1606 IUCN RECOMMENDATION TO WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEE: To defer the nominated property under natural criteria. Key paragraphs of Operational Guidelines: Paragraph 77: Nominated property has potential to meet World Heritage criteria. Paragraph 78: Nominated property does not currently meet integrity, protection and management requirements. 1. DOCUMENTATION Commission; Melville, D.S., Chen, Y. & Ma, Z. (2016). Shorebirds along the Yellow Sea coast of China face an a) Date nomination received by IUCN: 25 March 2018. uncertain future - a review of threats. Emu-Austral Ornithology 116(2):100-110; Menxiu, T., Lin, Z., Li, J., b) Additional information officially requested from Zöckler, C. & Clark, N.A. (2012). The critical importance and provided by the State Party: Following the IUCN of the Rudong mudflats, Jiangsu Province, China in the World Heritage Panel a progress report was sent to the annual cycle of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris State Party on 20 December 2018. This letter advised on pygmeus. Wader Study Group Bulletin 119(3):208-212; the status of the evaluation process and sought Murray, N.J., Ma, Z. & Fuller, R.A. (2015). Tidal flats of responses/clarifications on a range of issues including the Yellow Sea: A review of ecosystem status and the assessment of the relative significance of the values anthropogenic threats.
    [Show full text]
  • A Case Study for the Yangtze River Basin Yang
    RESERVOIR DELINEATION AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ASSESSMENT IN LARGE RIVER BASINS: A CASE STUDY FOR THE YANGTZE RIVER BASIN YANG XIANKUN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2014 RESERVOIR DELINEATION AND CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ASSESSMENT IN LARGE RIVER BASINS: A CASE STUDY FOR THE YANGTZE RIVER BASIN YANG XIANKUN (M.Sc. Wuhan University) A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHYLOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2014 Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in its entirety. I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been used in the thesis. This thesis has also not been submitted for any degree in any university previously. ___________ ___________ Yang Xiankun 7 August, 2014 I Acknowledgements I would like to first thank my advisor, Professor Lu Xixi, for his intellectual support and attention to detail throughout this entire process. Without his inspirational and constant support, I would never have been able to finish my doctoral research. In addition, brainstorming and fleshing out ideas with my committee, Dr. Liew Soon Chin and Prof. David Higgitt, was invaluable. I appreciate the time they have taken to guide my work and have enjoyed all of the discussions over the years. Many thanks go to the faculty and staff of the Department of Geography, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and the National University of Singapore for their administrative and financial support. My thanks also go to my friends, including Lishan, Yingwei, Jinghan, Shaoda, Suraj, Trinh, Seonyoung, Swehlaing, Hongjuan, Linlin, Nick and Yikang, for the camaraderie and friendship over the past four years.
    [Show full text]
  • Fluctuation of the Water Environmental Carrying Capacity in a Huge River-Connected Lake
    Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 3564-3578; doi:10.3390/ijerph120403564 OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ISSN 1660-4601 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Article Fluctuation of the Water Environmental Carrying Capacity in a Huge River-Connected Lake Hua Wang 1,*, Yiyi Zhou 2,†, Yang Tang 2,†, Mengan Wu 2,† and Yanqing Deng 3 1 Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China 2 College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China; E-Mails: [email protected] (Y.Z.); [email protected] (Y.T.); [email protected] (M.W.) 3 Hydrology Bureau of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang 330002, China; E-Mail: [email protected] † These authors contributed equally to this work. * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-025-8583-6549. Academic Editor: Miklas Scholz Received: 25 February 2015 / Accepted: 24 March 2015 / Published: 30 March 2015 Abstract: A new method, with the non-fully mixed coefficient (NFMC) considered, was put forward to calculate the water environmental carrying capacity (WECC) for huge river-connected lakes, of which the hydrological conditions always vary widely during a year. Poyang Lake, the most typical river-connected lake and the largest freshwater lake in China, was selected as the research area. Based on field investigations and numerical simulation, the monthly pollutant degradation coefficients and non-fully mixed coefficients of different lake regions were determined to explore the WECCs of COD, TN and TP of Poyang Lake in a common water year.
    [Show full text]
  • Coal, Water, and Grasslands in the Three Norths
    Coal, Water, and Grasslands in the Three Norths August 2019 The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH a non-profit, federally owned enterprise, implementing international cooperation projects and measures in the field of sustainable development on behalf of the German Government, as well as other national and international clients. The German Energy Transition Expertise for China Project, which is funded and commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), supports the sustainable development of the Chinese energy sector by transferring knowledge and experiences of German energy transition (Energiewende) experts to its partner organisation in China: the China National Renewable Energy Centre (CNREC), a Chinese think tank for advising the National Energy Administration (NEA) on renewable energy policies and the general process of energy transition. CNREC is a part of Energy Research Institute (ERI) of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Contact: Anders Hove Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH China Tayuan Diplomatic Office Building 1-15-1 No. 14, Liangmahe Nanlu, Chaoyang District Beijing 100600 PRC [email protected] www.giz.de/china Table of Contents Executive summary 1 1. The Three Norths region features high water-stress, high coal use, and abundant grasslands 3 1.1 The Three Norths is China’s main base for coal production, coal power and coal chemicals 3 1.2 The Three Norths faces high water stress 6 1.3 Water consumption of the coal industry and irrigation of grassland relatively low 7 1.4 Grassland area and productivity showed several trends during 1980-2015 9 2.
    [Show full text]