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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering

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ISSN 2095-221X(Online)

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Front Envir Sci Eng Chin    2011, Vol. 5 Issue (2) : 227-235    https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-010-0219-9
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Multi-scale evaluation of river health in Liao River Basin, China
Fei XU1, Yanwei ZHAO1(), Zhifeng YANG1, Yuan ZHANG2
1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; 2. River and Coastal Environmental Research Center, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
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Abstract

Previous studies on river health evaluation mainly focused on characterizations at a river-corridor scale and ignored the complex interactions between the river ecosystem and other components of the river basin. Based on the consideration of the interactions among rivers, associated river basin and habitats, an assessment framework with multi-scale indicators was developed. An index system divided among these three scales to characterize the health of river ecosystems in China’s Liao River Basin was established. Set pair analysis was applied to integrate the multi-scale indicators and determine the health classes. The evaluation results indicated that the rivers in the western and eastern zones of the Liao River were classified as sick, and rivers in the main stream of the Liao and Huntai rivers were classified as unhealthy. An excessive level of disturbances, such as large pollution loads and dense construction of water conservation projects within the river basin, were the main causes of the river health deterioration.
Keywords multi-scale characterization      river health evaluation      Liao River Basin      set pair analysis     
Corresponding Author(s): ZHAO Yanwei,Email:awei-a@163.com   
Issue Date: 05 June 2011
 Cite this article:   
Fei XU,Yanwei ZHAO,Zhifeng YANG, et al. Multi-scale evaluation of river health in Liao River Basin, China[J]. Front Envir Sci Eng Chin, 2011, 5(2): 227-235.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-010-0219-9
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2011/V5/I2/227
Fig.1  A proposed framework for evaluating river health simultaneously at basin, river-corridor, and habitat scales
scaleindexunitscalculation method and indication meanings
basinpollution load per unit area104 m3/km2discharge of industrial and household wastewater divided by the basin's area, reflecting the impact of point-source pollution loads on rivers
intensity of fertilizer applicationkg/m2fertilizer application rate divided by the agricultural area, reflecting the impact of agricultural non-point source pollution loads on rivers
percentage of built-up land area%the land area used for urbanization, mining, and rural residents, expressed as a percentage of the basin's area, reflecting the detrimental impact of impervious surfaces on rivers
water consumption per unit GDPm3 per 104 yuanwater consumption divided by gross domestic product (GDP), which reflects the utilization efficiency of water resources to sustain socioeconomic activities in the basin
soil and water loss rate%the percentage of the total basin area in which soil and water loss occurs, which reflects the comprehensive impact of land exploitation and natural conditions on rivers
NDVI/the normalized-difference vegetation index (NDVI), which is based on the near-infrared and visible red spectral reflectance: NDVI=NIR-RNIR+R, where NIR is the near-infrared spectral reflectance and R is the visible red spectral reflectance. NDVI reflects the state of the vegetation cover in the basin, which can be calculated from remote-sensing image data using the ENVI 4.4 software
river corridorproportion of water quality that meets the legal standard for various water function zones%the proportion of the river’s length that meets the standards required by the water function zones defined for each part of the river, as a percentage of the total river length being evaluated, which reflects the river's water quality condition from the perspective of how the water will be used
exploitation rate of river water resources%the percentage of the river’s mean annual surface water resource that is exploited to supply water for human uses, which reflects the intensity of exploitation of the river's water resources
proportion of the ecological water requirements of the river that are met%the percentage of the ecological water requirement supplied by the river, which reflects the service potential for the river's ecosystem from the standpoint of water quantity
Shannon-Weaver diversity index for benthonic organismsdimensionless indexthe formula is H=-∑i=1s(ni/N)log?2(ni/N), where H is the diversity index; ni is the number of individuals of the i-th species in the sample; and N is the total number of all kinds of benthonic organisms. This index reflects the cumulative effect of habitat disturbance on these organisms
longitudinal connectivity indexindividual per 100 kmthe number of dams and other barriers to water flow per 100 km of river length, which reflects the disturbance of river continuity by such structures
vegetation cover in the riparian zone%the percentage vegetation cover in the riparian zone area, which reflects the current condition of riparian zone management
habitatproportion of the ecological water requirements of habitats that are met%the percentage of the ecological water requirement supplied by the river, which reflects the state of ecological water supply to the habitats
proportion of habitats with water eutrophication%the percentage of the total number of habitats evaluated that are eutrophic, which reflects the water quality state of the habitats
area degradation rate of habitats%the percentage of the habitat area classified as degraded during the past 50 years, which reflects the degree of disturbance that habitats have sustained
habitat fragmentation index (FN)dimensionless indexFN = MPS (Nf - 1) / Nc, where MPS is the mean area of all habitats; Nf is the total number of habitats; and Nc is the ratio of the total area of all habitats to the minimum habitat area. This reflects the degree of habitat fragmentation as a result of human disturbances
habitat patch cohesion index (PCI)dimensionless indexPCI=[1-∑i=1m∑j=1npij∑i=1m∑j=1npijaij]×[1-1A]-1×100, where i and j represent habitat type and number, respectively; pij is the perimeter of the habitat; aij is the habitat area; and A is the total habitat area. PCI therefore reflects the spatial connectivity between the river and the habitats it sustains
Tab.1  The proposed index system for evaluating river health in the Liao River Basin
Fig.2  Zones used in the evaluation of river health in the Liao River Basin
scaleindexhealth classweight (wj)
sickunhealthysub-healthyhealthyvery healthy
basinpollution load per unit area>8.94.6 to 8.92.5 to 4.61.1 to 2.5<1.10.03869
intensity of fertilizer application>0.140.1 to 0.140.06 to 0.10.02 to 0.06<0.020.03854
percentage of built-up land area>1510 to 155 to 101 to 5<10.04916
water consumption per unit GDP>220190 to 220160 to 19080 to 160<800.03862
soil and water loss rate>6040 to 6020 to 4010 to 20<100.03870
NDVI<0.10.1 to 0.30.3 to 0.50.5 to 0.7>0.70.03866
river corridorproportion of water quality that meets the legal standard for various water function zones<4040 to 7070 to 9595 to 1001000.07862
exploitation rate of river water resources>5545 to 5535 to 4520 to 35<200.07794
proportion of the ecological water requirement of the river<4040 to 5555 to 9090 to 1001000.07833
Shannon-Weaver diversity index for benthonic organisms<1.51.5 to 2.52.5 to 3.53.5 to 4.5>4.50.08940
longitudinal connectivity index>1.20.9 to 1.20.6 to 0.90.3 to 0.6<0.30.04862
vegetation cover in the riparian zone<4040 to 6060 to 8080 to 1001000.04125
habitatproportion of the ecological water requirements of habitats that are met<4040 to 6060 to 9090 to 1001000.08752
proportion of habitats with water eutrophication>4030 to 4020 to 3010 to 20<100.07937
area degradation rate of habitats>6535 to 6515 to 355 to 15<50.07882
habitat fragmentation index (FN)>0.70.5 to 0.70.3 to 0.50.1 to 0.3<0.10.04911
habitat patch cohesion index (PCI)<4545 to 6060 to 7575 to 90>900.04868
Tab.2  The standard values and index weights for the five health classes used in the evaluation of the Liao River Basin
evaluation zoneakckrk
West Liao River0.1240.3410.267
East Liao River0.1630.4260.276
main stream of the Liao River0.2550.3830.400
Huntai River0.2610.4740.354
SI0.3020.0830.783
SII0.2680.2830.486
SIII0.2740.3480.440
SIV0.2470.5350.316
Tab.3  Calculation Results of , , and for evaluation zones
scaleoverall health class
evaluation zonebasinriver corridorhabitat
West Liao Riversickunhealthysicksick
East Liao Riverhealthysicksicksick
main stream of the Liao Riversub-healthyunhealthyunhealthyunhealthy
Huntai Riverunhealthyunhealthyunhealthyunhealthy
Tab.4  Summary of the river health class for the four evaluation zones of the Liao River Basin at three scales, and the overall health class
Fig.3  The overall health states of the river ecosystem in the four zones of the Liao River Basin
Fig.4  The health states of the river ecosystem at the basin scale in the four zones of the Liao River Basin
Fig.5  The health states of the river ecosystem at the river-corridor scale in the four zones of the Liao River Basin
Fig.6  The health states of the river ecosystem at the habitat scale in the four zones of the Liao River Basin
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