Changes in major factors affecting the ecosystem health of the Weihe River in Shaanxi Province, China

Abstract

Maintenance of the ecosystem health of a river is of great importance for local sustainable development. On the basis of both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the influence of natural variations and human activities on the ecosystem function of the Weihe River, the changes in major factors affecting its ecosystem health are determined, which include: 1) Deficiency of environment flow: since the 1960s, the incoming stream flow shows an obvious decreasing tendency. Even in the low flow period, 80% of the water in the stream is impounded by dams for agriculture irrigation in the Baoji district. As a result, the water flow maintained in the stream for environmental use is very limited. 2) Deterioration of water quality: the concentrations of typical pollutants like Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and NH₃-N are higher than their maximum values of the Chinese environmental quality standard. Very few fish species can survive in the River. 3) Deformation of water channels: the continuous channel sedimentation has resulted in the decrease in stream gradient, shrinkage of riverbed and the decline in the capability for flood discharge. 4) Loss of riparian vegetation: most riparian land has been occupied by urban construction activities, which have caused the loss of riparian vegetation and biodiversity and further weakened flood control and water purification functions.

Keywords

influencing factors / ecosystem health / ecological and environmental functions / the Weihe River / Shaanxi Province

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Acknowledgements

This study is jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51079123), Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (No. NCET-11-1045),Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar (2011-12-09), Scientific Research Foundation for Returned Scholars (2010-1174), and Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (Grant No.12k798).

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2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg