Characteristics,classification and ordination of riparian plant communities in the Three-Gorges areas

Sixteen different vegetation types of grassland and shrubland were selected to study the component and diversity of plant species of riparian plant communities along main channel in the Three-Gorges areas. Species richness (s), Simpson index (D), and Shannon-Weiner index (H) were used to study the biodiversity and the hierarchical classification was carried out by the methods of TWINSPAN and DCA ordination. The results showed that the components of flora were complex and dominated by the temperate type in the riparian plant communities. Species diversity was not different between the communities, but Shannon-Weiner indexes of different layers in some grassland were significantly different. TWINSPAN and DCA indicated that riparian plant communities distributed along the gradient of moisture.

Benefit evaluation of the Three-Gorges Reservoir migration by an assessment index model based on analytic hierarchy process

An assessment index model was established to evaulate the benefit of the Three-Gorges Reservoir migration through the analytical hierarchy process. Totally 43 indicators were selected to assess the impact of migration on the economic, social and ecological environmental aspects of the migration communities, with the data of the indicators of the years 1992, 1998, 2002 which represented the period of premigration, the end of the first phase migration and the end of the second phase migration, respectively. The evaluation matrix is sufficiently consistent, with a consistency ratio CR equal to 0.086 3. The assessment turned out a benefit value for the economic subsystem in the year 2004 larger than triple the value in the year 1992, indicating a remarkable economic growth in the Reservoir area. The constantly increasing value for the social subsystem reflects the stable social situations. There is a slight decline in the assessment outcome of the ecological subsystem for the year 1998, which implies enviromental conservation was given insufficient importance during that period. On the whole, the implementation of the migration project is favorable to the Reservoir region, as confirmed by the stably increasing overall evaluation value from 42.22% in 1992 to 68.81% in 2002. However, there is still much room to improve from the status quo to the target criteria.

Water Environment Pollution in Three-Gorge Reservoir Area and Treatment Technology

After the erection of Three-Gorge Reservoir, the water environment in the reservoir area will be turned into water bodies like lakes, and the self-clarification ability of water will also be much slower than ever. Now, the quality of water in most segments in upper reaches of Yangtze River cannot meet the requirements of l-ll class Environment Quality Standard (GHZB1-1999). In Yangtze River, dialing River and Wujiang River, the main indexes such as colon bacillus, nonionic ammonia, chemical oxygen demand (COD), petroleum, phenol, total phosphorus (TP), heavy metal, etc., have exceeded the standard limits. The water bodies of the reservoir area are facing serious risk of eutrophicationm. To solve that problem, a countermea-sure of multi-spot diverted treatment and separate discharge is recommended. For doing this, lots of small-scale wastewater treatment facilities employing updated activated sludge treatment technologies are to be set up. Up to now, a number of sewage treatment technologies to control eutrophication of water have been developed, which include processes of sequencing batch activated sludge (SBR), absorbing bio-degradation (AB), oxidation channel, package intermittent aeration system (PIAS), intermittent cycle extended aeration system (ICEAS), UNITANK and so on. The Effective one to be applied in the reservoir area should convey the requirements of ecological agriculture, forestry and urban planning, and be accompanied by legal support for appropriate exploitation of natural resources.

Land Use Zoning in Three-Gorge Reservoir Region:A Case Study of Fengdu County in Chongqing Municipality

Taking Fengdu County in Three-Gorge Reservoir region as an example,this paper applies the dynamic clustering analysis model, and divides land resource utilization of Fengdu County into three zones: Yangtze River valley economic zone,low mountains and hills agricultural zone,and low and middle agricultural,forestry and animal husbandry zone. It also analyzes current situation and existing problems in the land utilization of every zone,and finally puts forward corresponding recommendations.

Current Situation of Land Use in Three-gorges Reservoir Region in 2010

Land is rare natural resource.Production and construction of all sectors in a region must be based on land.Thus,overall research and analysis on current situation of land use can reveal scope,depth and reasonableness of land use,is helpful for analyzing internal mechanism land use change,and can reflect production scale,level and characteristics,and also can provide basis for optimization and adjustment of land use structure.Based on RS and GIS technologies,with the aid of TM image data of the Three-gorges Reservoir Region in 2010,the data of current situation of land use in Three-gorges Reservoir Region was obtained,and current land use situation was analyzed using geographimetrics and landscape ecology methods.Results show that since natural,social and economic conditions are different,land type diversity,combination type and location index of counties in the Three-gorges Reservoir Region are varied.In the land use diversity index,Xingshan County has the most single land use type(mainly forest land); in land use degree,Yuzhong District has the highest land use degree; in the integrated index of land use,Changshou District has the lowest integrated index of land use.This study is expected to provide reference and basis for formulating policies of protecting ecological environment of the Three-gorges Reservoir Region.

Three-Gorges Reservoir Area on the Yangtze River Faced with Risk of Induced Destructive Earthquakes

The Three-Gorge Water Conservancy Project on the Yangtze River started to impound water by locking gates on June 1, 2003. A swarm of more than 2000 small earthquakes suddenly occurred densely along the river section in Xinling Town north of Badong, Hubei Province, on June 7. This caused grave concern in the following years, but, with the completion of the second- and third-phase engineering construction, the water level in the reservoir will rise up to 156 m and 175 m respectively, no matter whether it can induce larger and stronger earthquakes. After an analysis of the distribution of active faults in the eastern part of the reservoir area, their intersections and capability to generate earthquakes from a seismo-tectonic viewpoint, we consider that after the reservoir impounding, two potential focal zones existing in Badong and Zigui counties may generate M 5.5 earthquake, the seismic intensity of which may reach Ⅷ. It will induce landslide bodies in the reservoir area to be reactivated and slide. The evidence is the large-scale landslide occurring on the Shazhenxi Creek river in Zigui County on June 12, 2003.

Theoretical and experimental study on seismic response control on top of Three-Gorges ship lift towers using magnetorheological intelligent isolation system and its key technique

A vertical ship lift under earthquake excitation may suffer from a whipping effect due to the sudden change of building lateral stiffness at the top of the ship lift towers.This paper proposes a roof magnetorheological(MR)intelligent isolation system to prevent the seismic whipping effect on machinery structures.Theoretically,the dynamic models of MR damper and the mechanical model of ship lift was established,the inverse neural network controlling algorithm was proposed and the fundamental semi-active control equation for the Three-Gorges ship lift where the MR intelligent isolation system was installed was deduced.Experimentally,the experimental model of the ship lift was given,the vibrating table experiment of the MR intelligent isolation system controlling the whipping effect was carried out and the results of the inverse neural network control strategy and passive isolation strategy were compared.In practical aspect,the large-scale MR damper(500 kN)and a sliding support with limited stiffness were designed and fabricated.It was proven that the MR intelligent isolation system with proper control strategy can greatly reduce the seismic whipping effect on the top workshop of the ship lift and be simple and effective enough to be applied to real engineering structures.

DEVELOPING TREND ANALYSIS AND FORECAST OF DEBRIS FLOW ACTIVITIES IN THE THREE-GORGE RESERVOIR AREA

The water level of the Three-Gorge Reservoir will reach the height of 135m, and the government pays great attention to security of cities/towns and emigration villages that may be affected by debris flow activities. How will the debris flow activities develop when the water level of the Reservoir reaches 175 m in height in 2009? This paper analyzes the change of environment for debris flow before and after storing water comprehensively, and special attention is given to the effects of the Reservoir bank rebuilding-process on debris flow activities, and the probability of appearance of new manmade debris flow due to irrational human activities during the construction of the Reservoir. 11 items of predicted results on the developing trend of debris flow activities in the Reservoir area and a suggestion are presented for relevant branches as references in the discussion and implementation of prevention and control of geological disasters in the Reservoir area.

Investigation and analysis of hazardous waste in the Three Gorges Area of Chongqing region

This article describes the investigation of hazardous waste (HW) in the Three Gorges Area of Chongqing region, which indicates that by May 2002, the dumped HW therein amounted to 14 600 t and was mainly distributed in five districts and counties with 11 000 t in Fuling, 1 650 t in Fengdu, 950 t in Wanzhou; 630 t in Wushan and 430 t in Yunyang. The total amount was composed of 9 670 t chromic residue, 2 310 t waste oil and residue, 410 t waste (false) fertilizer, 28 t waste chemical medicine, 26 t waste materials and 2 200 t other things including acid residue, waste asbestos, fluorine silicate, pigment, additive, waste acid, alkali, nitric acid, vitriol, lead mud, storage battery, calcium carbide, potassium cyanide, polluted soil, discard dynamite, waste packing barrel of cyanides, etc. In all of the HW, 578 t can be treated by chemical neutralization and stabilization technology such as redox, chemical precipitation, acid and alkali neutralization, etc., and the rest is temporarily untreatble and should be removed and piled at a temporary storage site above the 177 m water level of the dam with an aim to be transported to a future disposal site for innocuous treatment.

Fission Track Method to Date Fault Activity—As Exemplified by the Three Gorges Dam Area of the Yangtze River Valley, China

The Xiannushan and Jiuwanxi are the two major fracture belts adjacent to the Three Gorges Dam Site. Apatites are selected from fracture clay and fracture\|cliff rock in the fracture belts and examined with the fission track dating method. Our study shows that the Xiannushan and Jiuwanxi fracture belts were tectonically active at 0.60±0.04Ma and 0.29±0.04Ma ago, respectively. Their ages are close to those obtained by the U\|series method.

Emergy-analysis based approaches to develop circular economy in the Three Gorges Reservoir area

The eco-environment and the condition of economic development in the Three Gorges area were evaluated with emergy indices calculated with the statistic data of the years from 1997 to 2005. The rising environmental loading ratio indicates an increasing pressure of economic activities on the environment and the economic development achieved at the cost of over-exploitation of resources and environment deterioration. The net emergy yield ratio implies that the economic system of this area was a self-contained, resource-export-oriented type at a relatively low level of technology. The emergy sustainability index of about 6 implies the economy of this area was under developed but had a potential to grow. According to the results of the emergy analysis, circular economy should be taken as the economic model of this region's development. This economic system should be water-resource-oriented and more open, make combined use of local and extraneous resources, and have an updated systematic structure with emphasis on emergy recirculation.

Stability analysis of wharf slope under large water level difference in inland fiver

Abstract： Because of the complex topography in southwest region of China, the water level of the inland river has a large amplitude of variation which causes a frequent diversification of water content in the river slope. The flow caused by the infiltration of the terminal slope stability will induce a great impact on the slope stability of wharf.. This paper uses an ideal elastic-plastic model and the Moore Coulomb yield criterion for numerical simulation. Through the b an k slop e stability of the overhead-type terminal s under the changes of water, we obtained the impact of all factors on the bank slope in the course of water lowering. It was found out that the impact from the cohesion of the geo-materials of the bank slope on the slope stability is greater than that from the internal friction angle.