Wetland Biodiversity Disturbance Evaluation Induced by a Water Conservancy Project in the Flooded Plain of the Huolin River Lower Reaches

• Main Authors: Yujuan Zhai, Libo Hao, Yanhong Zhang, Ye Li, Zhaoli Liu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: river flooded; biodiversity assessment; analytic hierarchy process (AHP); impact index
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/8/4476

The Huolin River is an important water supply source for the wetland located in western Jilin province, especially the river flooding in the lower reaches of the basin. In recent years, the degree of aridity and salinization of the wetlands has increased. To prevent the further deterioration of the ecological system, water conservancy projects and irrigation systems were constructed to ensure water safety. What effects on the ecological system and biological diversity were induced by all the measures and constructions is not clear. The “emergency project” of the water recession of the Huolin River is taken as example. In the analysis, the project is divided into two stages, five indicators for criteria tier were selected, and for index tier, 21 indicators during the implementation stage and 15 indicators during the operation stage were selected for constructing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model. By using expert scoring to determine the weight of each indicator, the impact index and degree of water conservancy of projects on biodiversity are calculated. The results show that at the level of the impact categories, ecological landscape is identified as a key influence factor. At the index level, the occupied area of the landscape type, the changes in patch number, the water conservation function, and the water purification quality are identified as corresponding key impact indicators. The biodiversity overall impact index is −23.45, which means the negative impact and the degree is medium to low. Meanwhile, for the implementation stage, the index is −51.58, which indicates a medium to low negative impact, while for the operation stage, the index is 33.66, which indicates a medium to low positive impact. These results are analyzed and scientifically evaluated and corresponding protection suggestions for the local area are proposed.