Changjiang Water Resources Protection Institute, Wuhan 430051, China; Key Laboratory of Ecological Regulation of Non-Point Source Pollution in Lake and Reservoir Water Sources, Changjiang Water Resources Commission, Wuhan, China.
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2024 Nov 25;953:176020. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176020. Epub 2024 Sep 3.
China has made enormous strides to achieve high-quality development and biodiversity conservation, and the establishment of nature-protected areas is one of the essential initiatives. Caizi Lake involves a natural reserve and two national wetland parks, accommodating winter migratory waterfowl over the middle and lower Yangtze River basin in China. However, the water transfer from the Yangtze River to the Huai River (YR-HR water transfer) has modified the winter hydrological conditions of Caizi Lake, negatively affecting wintertime waterfowl habitats. Hence, conserving wintertime waterfowl habitats necessitates knowledge of the dynamical mechanisms behind the impacts of YR-HR water transfer on wintertime waterfowl habitats and adaptive measures. Here we developed a machine learning model, the normalized difference vegetation index, and on-spot observatory datasets such as the spatial distribution of waterfowl species and underwater topography of Caizi Lake. We found that the rising winter water level of Caizi Lake encroaches on winter waterfowl habitat with extremely high suitability. Meanwhile, rising water levels reduced waterfowl food sources. Thus, rising water levels due to YR-HR water transfer deteriorated waterfowl living conditions over Caizi Lake. Therefore, we proposed adaptive measures to alleviate these negative effects, such as water level regulation, artificial feeding of waterfowls, restoration and reconstruction of contiguous mudflats, grass flats. This study highlights human interferences with waterfowl habitats, necessitating biodiversity conservation at regional scales.
中国在实现高质量发展和生物多样性保护方面取得了巨大进展，建立自然保护区是其中的重要举措之一。菜子湖涉及一个自然保护区和两个国家湿地公园，是中国长江中下游地区冬季候鸟的栖息地。然而，从长江向淮河调水（YR-HR 调水）改变了菜子湖的冬季水文条件，对冬季水鸟栖息地产生了负面影响。因此，保护冬季水鸟栖息地需要了解 YR-HR 调水对冬季水鸟栖息地的影响及其适应措施背后的动力学机制。在这里，我们开发了一个机器学习模型，归一化差异植被指数，以及现场观测数据集，如菜子湖水鸟物种的空间分布和水下地形。我们发现，菜子湖冬季水位上升侵占了极适宜的冬季水鸟栖息地。同时，水位上升减少了水鸟的食物来源。因此，YR-HR 调水导致的水位上升恶化了菜子湖的水鸟生存条件。因此，我们提出了一些适应措施来缓解这些负面影响，例如水位调节、水鸟人工饲养、连续泥滩、草地的恢复和重建。本研究强调了人类对水鸟栖息地的干扰，需要在区域尺度上进行生物多样性保护。
