Environmental and ecological water requirement of river system: a case study of Haihe-Luanhe river system

In order to reduce the environmental and ecological problems induced by water resources development and utilization, this paper proposes a concept of environmental and ecological water requirement. It is defined as the minimum water amount to be consumed by the natural water bodies to conserve its environmental and ecological functions. Based on the definition, the methods on calculating the amount of environmental and ecological water requirement are determined. In the case study on Haihe-Luanhe river system, the water requirement is divided into three parts, i.e., the basic in-stream flow, water requirement for sediment transfer and water consumption by evaporation of the lakes or everglades. The results of the calculation show that the environmental and ecological water requirement in the river system is about 124×108 m3, including 57×108 m3 for basic in-stream flow, 63×108 m3 for sediment transfer and 4×108 m3 for net evaporation loss of lakes. The total amount of environmental and ecological water requirement accounts for 54% of the amount of runoff (228×108 m3). However, it should be realized that the amount of environmental and ecological water requirement must be more than that we have calculated. According to this result, we consider that the rational utilization rate of the runoff in the river systems must not be more than 40%. Since the current utilization rate of the river system, which is over 80%, has been far beyond the limitation, the problems of environment and ecology are quite serious. It is imperative to control and adjust water development and utilization to eliminate the existing problems and to avoid the potential ecological or environmental crisis.

Ecological Water Requirement Estimates for Typical Areas in the Huaihe Basin

Aquatic ecosystems require ecological water allocation to prevent from being damaged by natural disasters and undue exploitation. This paper discusses and estimates the ecological water requirements （EWRs） of typical areas in the Huaihe Basin to determine rational allocations of water resources and pro- mote regional improvements of the ecological environment. The main river course, including Hongze Lake and Nansi Lake, was selected as the study subject. Calculational methods for the river and lake EWRs were based on the reasonableness of the results and data availability. The monthly guarantee rate method was used to calculate monthly, flood period, non-flood period, and annual EWRs for the main river course and the main tributaries at two different guarantee rates. The minimum water level method was used to calculate annual EWRs for Hongze Lake and the upper and lower Nansi Lake of 1.521×10^9 m^3, 0.637×10^9 m^3, and 0.306×10^9 m^3. The results were used to evaluate the rationality of the quantity of water resources allocated to ecological uses in the Huaihe Basin during 1998-2003. The result shows that the present water resource allocations in the Huaihe Basin cannot satisfy the basic ecological requirements for some years, especially years with less precipitation.

Effect of Groundwater Level Fluctuation on Phragmites australis Evapotranspiration in the Baiyangdian Lake

Abstract:Hydrological regimes influence ecological patterns and processes as well as alter rates of wetland evapotranspiration.This study aimed to investigate the impact of groundwater fluctuation on evapotranspiration of Phragmites australis.Supported by field data obtained from the Baiyangdian Lake in northern China,the variations in groundwater levels were explored,and the changes in soil water and evapotranspiration of reed were analyzed to investigate different groundwater level scenarios using HYDRUS-1D model.The results showed that soil water content,recharged by groundwater,remained stable in the lower soil layer but varied strongly in the upper layer of the soil profile;in comparison to evaporation,Phragmites australis transpiration contributed significantly more to the overall evapotranspiration rate;the high levels of evapotranspiration could be maintained when groundwater levels vary between 1.0 m and 1.8 m,while it was reduced with an increase in groundwater levels as a result of water stress conditions.The results also indicated that the evapotranspiration of Phragmites australis could maintain higher evapotranspiration rates under natural water levels.The evapotranspiration,in other words,might be the main water consumer,but it nevertheless has little effect on water levels during water shortages.The evapotranspiration of Phragmites australis responded to the changes in groundwater levels could help researchers understand water requirements of the wetlands and establish suitable water levels for the wetlands.

径流变异条件下河道内生态需水计算--以太湖流域西苕溪为例

Climate change and human activity can cause remarkable hydrological variation.Traits of hydrological series such as runoff before and after the change points could be significantly different,so the calculation of instream ecological water requirements(EWRs)is confronted with more challenges.Taking the Xitiaoxi River(XTXR)in the upper reach of the Taihu Lake Basin as an example,this paper investigates the calculation of EWRs using the range of variability approach(RVA)under changing environment.The change point diagnosis of the natural and observed runoff series are conducted for XTXR.Then,differences in the hydrological alternation indicators and instream EWRs processes obtained from various daily runoff series are compared.It was found that the natural and observed annual runoff series in XTXR from 1957 to 2018 both show significant variations,and the change points are in 2007 and 1999 respectively.If runoff data before the change points or all runoff data are used,the instream EWRs obtained from natural runoff are significantly lower than those obtained from the observed runoff.At the monthly time step,EWRs differences within a year mainly occurred from May to August.Also,calculation results of the instream EWRs are strongly related to the selected period of runoff series.The EWRs obtained using runoff series after the change points have rather acute fluctuation within a year.Therefore,when the RVA method is used under changing environment,the instream EWRs should be prudently determined by comparing different calculation results on the basis of river runoff restoration and variability analysis.To a certain extent,this paper enriches our understanding about the hydrological method for EWRs estimation,and proposes new ideas for future research on EWRs.