Open Journal of Social Sciences
2013. Vol.1, No.5, 1-4
Published Online October 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/jss) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jss.2013.15001
Open Access 1
Hydro Development-Induced Environmental Impact
on River Ecosystem
Qingran Wang
State Grid Xinyuan Company Ltd., Beijing, China
Email: star201@126.com
Received June 2013
Based on the analysis of river ecosystem characteristics, the external problem of hydropower develop-
ment is detailedly analyzed. Dam plays the important role in regulating regional water resources, reducing
the storage of flood disaster, producing clean energy. However, the river system of morphology, topogra-
phy, water quality and ecological environment are adversely affected. The controlling countermeasures of
ecological compensation mechanism, the artificial cultivation of ecological system are proposed.
Keywords: Reservoir; Ecosystem; Environmental Impact; Externalities
Introduction
Hydropower development is an important engineering meas-
ure for dealing with water, and is an important way to protect
the ecological environment (Shiklomanov, 2005). However, hy-
dropower development will bring negative impacts on river
basin. The paper analyzes the adverse effects of hydropower
development on river ecological system. At the same time, the
measure of reducing adverse effects of river ecological system
is present.
River Ecosystem Composition
River ecosystem is the complex biological communities in
the river and river environment interaction, the system is the
series of subsystems from land riparian ecosystem, aquatic
ecosystems, and wetlands to marsh ecological system which is
open and continuous (Stegner, 1992).
From the endwise perspective, the river ecosystem includes
upstream, middle, lower ways from the analysis of the vertical
angle (Moyle, 1988). Most of the river originate in the moun-
tains, flows through the hills, and is through to the estuary allu-
vial plain. The meteorological, hydrological and geological
condition is very different which formats different mainstreams,
tributaries, wetland, alluvial plain and flood plain.
From the horizontal perspective, the river ecosystem includes
rivers, floodplains, riparian zone, and marshes. The river is the
main body of the aquatic ecosystem, and is the main river eco-
logical system. Floodplains are the river flood periodic region
which includes shallow, shallow lakes and wetlands. Floodplain
flood plays an important role in absorbing the flood, keeping
the soil. Forests, grasslands, wetlands and marshes can maintain
soil, prevent sediment into river.
From the vertical perspective, the aquatic ecological system
of river ecological system can be divided into superficial, mid-
dle, bottom layer and the substrate. On the surface, oxygen is
rich in water. Due to the flow of the river, the atmosphere of the
large contact area and good gas exchange which is in favor of
the decomposition for microbial survival and aerobic aquatic
organisms. This is the main primary production water of aqua-
tic ecosystem. In the lower layer, plankton is gradually reduced
due to oxygen, sunlight is weakened. The basal rivers contain
pebble, gravel, sand, clay and so on, which is the habitat for
many organisms. At the same time, the aquatic ecological sys-
tem carry out energy exchange continuously with the land bank
system, wetland with material, which constitute the river eco-
system integrity.
From the time perspective, the river ecological system is
changed with the passage of time, precipitation change, human
disturbance, temperature fluctuation. The river is a living, in
morphology, channel change may need very long time, but
human disturbance effects on the river do not need too long
time, such as water pollution, excessive water etc.
Hydropower Development Affect
on River Ecosystem s
Impact of hydropower development on river basin ecosystem
environment is mainly reflected in two aspects which are river
ecosystem impact on non-ecological factors and river ecosys-
tem impact on ecological factors. River ecosystem impact on
non-ecological factors are the characteristics of watershed hy-
drological, water, water, sediment, water, landforms, river
morphology, the lower strata, regional climate. River ecosystem
impact on ecological factors is primary production and higher
trophic production which is interrelated and interacted. This
change can be divided into three levels according to the effects
of the depth (Hughes, 1990), as shown in Figure 1. The effects
of hydropower development on river ecological system start
from the influence on non-ecological factors. And then, chang-
ing is happened in the higher trophic level. The complexity of
this interaction process is gradually increased from the first
grade to the third grade.
River Ecosystem Impact on
Non-Ecological Factors
1) Impacts on river systems in hydrological regime. Hydro-
power development is the controlling mode of flow change