Department of Resource and Environment, Shijiazhuang University, Shijiazhuang 050035, China.
College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 13;19(24):16712. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416712.
The global demand for sand and gravel is at 50 billion tons per year, far exceeding global resource capacities. It reached 7.6 billion tons in 2021 in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), China. However, production is severely limited in the YRB. Therefore, the incongruity between the supply and demand of river sand is prominent. Wise management of decreasing sand resources in the YRB has become critical since the Three Gorges Dam became operational in 2003. This study synthesized spatial and temporal changes in sand mining activities and quantities along the Yangtze River and its major tributaries from 2004 to 2020. Results from the study show that the mining amount during the period reached 76.2 million tons annually. At the same time, riverine suspended sediment discharge (SSD) downstream of the Three Gorges Dam decreased largely. SSD reduction leads to riverbed erosion, further limiting the riverine sand and gravel sources for mining. Thus, alternative sand and gravel resources, as well as optimizing supply/demand balance, are necessary for sustainable development. There is an urgent need to assess the relationship between river sand resources and exploitation in the YRB for creating a sand and gravel data management system in order to cope with the increasing incongruity between their supply and demand.
全球每年对砂石的需求约为 500 亿吨，远超全球资源产能。2021 年，中国长江流域（YRB）的砂石产量达到 76 亿吨。然而，长江流域的砂石产量严重受限。因此，供需矛盾十分突出。自 2003 年三峡大坝建成运行以来，如何合理管理长江流域不断减少的砂石资源成为当务之急。本研究综合分析了 2004 年至 2020 年期间长江及其主要支流的采砂活动和采砂量的时空变化。研究结果表明，在此期间的采砂量达到了每年 7620 万吨。与此同时，三峡大坝下游的河流悬浮泥沙排放量（SSD）大幅减少。SSD 的减少导致河床侵蚀，进一步限制了可用于采砂的河砂和砾石资源。因此，需要寻找替代的砂石资源，并优化供需平衡，以实现可持续发展。有必要评估长江流域河砂资源与开采之间的关系，建立砂石数据管理系统，以应对日益突出的供需矛盾。
