Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Punjab Forest Department, Government of Punjab, Lahore 54000, Pakistan.
Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Ecology and Resources Research in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, College of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Jul 1;776:146011. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146011. Epub 2021 Feb 23.
Riparian ecosystem services along higher-order streams and connected tributaries may change over time as disturbances continuously increase, resulting in diverse deterioration of buffer zones. How habitat, plant cover, regeneration, erosion, and exotic parameters (riparian health conditions) change within huge dams and reservoirs worldwide is an unanswered question. We used multivariate statistical techniques to assess changes in riparian health parameters affected by disturbances identified in 304 transects within the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir, China, and associated tributaries. Kruskal-Wallis tests (p < 0.01) revealed high diversity in habitat, plant cover, regeneration, erosion, and overall stream condition. There was also notable variance relating to exotic and pressure parameters. The critical variables of riparian health indicators and stress factors identified by principal component analysis explained 58.40% and 74.6% (in the main waterway) and 53.23% and 71.0% (in the tributaries) of the total variance. Among riparian health indicators, one habitat parameter (riparian vegetation width) in the main waterway and one regeneration parameter (tree size classes) in tributaries contributed greatly, along with other specified parameters. Furthermore, stress factors such as farming systems, land-use types, and pollutant activity variables had the highest impact on these water bodies. In comparison, counting stress factors alone showed more deterioration in the main waterway with a range of (r = -0.527- 0.493), as determined using Pearson correlation (p < 0.05). Furthermore, after indexing, the parameters exhibited weaker coefficient values in tributaries, where exotic correlated negatively with other indexed values. These findings are relevant for managers of massive dam and reservoir ecosystems seeking to mitigate environmental and socioeconomic losses.
沿高阶溪流和相连的支流的河岸生态系统服务可能会随着干扰的不断增加而随时间发生变化，从而导致缓冲区的多样化恶化。世界范围内的大型水坝和水库中，栖息地、植被覆盖、再生、侵蚀和外来参数（河岸健康状况）如何变化，这是一个尚未解决的问题。我们使用多元统计技术来评估受中国三峡大坝水库及其相关支流 304 个横断面中识别出的干扰影响的河岸健康参数的变化。Kruskal-Wallis 检验（p < 0.01）显示，栖息地、植被覆盖、再生、侵蚀和整体溪流状况的多样性很高。与外来和压力参数相关的变化也很显著。主成分分析确定的河岸健康指标和压力因素的关键变量解释了 58.40%和 74.6%（在主水道）和 53.23%和 71.0%（在支流）的总方差。在河岸健康指标中，主水道中的一个栖息地参数（河岸植被宽度）和支流中的一个再生参数（树木大小类别）以及其他指定参数的贡献很大。此外，农业系统、土地利用类型和污染物活动变量等压力因素对这些水体的影响最大。相比之下，仅计算压力因素表明，主水道的恶化程度更大，范围为（r = -0.527-0.493），这是通过 Pearson 相关（p < 0.05）确定的。此外，在索引后，参数在支流中表现出较弱的系数值，其中外来与其他索引值呈负相关。这些发现对于寻求减轻环境和社会经济损失的大型水坝和水库生态系统管理者具有重要意义。
