Abstract
The volume of inflowing water needed to meet multiple demands in the Yellow River Estuary of China was examined and quantified. Pressure on available environmental flows comes from varied ecological objectives, including maintenance of freshwater habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species, salinity balance, sediment transport and general equilibrium of the hydrologic cycle. Temporal fluctuations of flow input and output were considered and the amount of water needed for both consumptive and non-consumptive uses was evaluated. The rule of summation was used to calculate consumptive water requirements and the rule of compatibility (i.e., maximum principle) was adapted to estimate the non-consumptive ones. It was determined that the minimum, medium and high levels of annual environmental flows are 134.22 × 108, 162.73 × 108 and 274.9 × 108 m3, respectively, in the Yellow River Estuary, which represent 23.7, 28.7 and 48.5% of the natural river discharge. Water requirements differ across months. The months of May through June, August and October were identified as the most critical periods for maintaining the environmental flows. The basic purpose of water entering the system is to compensate for water losses due to evaporation and to maintain an acceptable level of salinity in the estuary. Sediment transport into and through the estuary area are likely to be directly impacted by variations in river discharge. Improved efficiency in the sediment transport regime of the Yellow River could potentially reduce environmental flow requirements of the estuary, thus freeing water resources for other beneficial uses.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnett J, Webber M, Wang M et al (2006) Ten key questions about the management of water in the Yellow River Basin. Environ Manag 38(2):179–188
Doering PH, Chamberlain RH, Haunert DE (2002) Using submerged aquatic vegetation to establish minimum and maximum freshwater inflows to the Caloosahatchie Estuary, Florida. Estuaries 25:1343–1354
Flannery MS, Peebles EB, Montgomery RT (2002) A percent-of-flow approach for managing reductions of freshwater inflows from unimpounded rivers to the Southwest Florida estuaries. Estuaries 25:1318–1332
Harman C, Stewardson M (2005) Optimizing dam release rules to meet environmental flow targets. River Res Appl 21(2–3):113–129
Hughes DA, Hannart PA (2003) Desktop model used to provide an initial estimate of the ecological instream flow requirements of rivers in South Africa. J Hydrol 270(3–4):167–181
Jassby AD, Kimmerer WJ, Monismith SG et al (1995) Isohaline position as a habitat indicator for estuarine populations. Ecol Appl 5(1):272–289
Kimmerer WJ (2000) Physical, biological, and management responses to variable freshwater inflow into the San Francisco Estuary. Estuaries 25:1275–1290
King J, Brown C, Sabet H (2003) A scenario-based holistic approach to environmental flow assessments for rivers. River Res Appl 19:619–639
Li GX, Wei HL, Han YS et al (1998) Sedimentation in the Yellow River delta, part I: flow and suspended sediment structure in the upper distributary and the estuary. Mar Geol 149:93–111
Li GX, Tang ZS, Yue SH et al (2001) Sedimentation in the shear front off the Yellow River mouth. Cont Shelf Res 21(6–7):607–625
Lin JY, Chen YC, Tsao EH (2006) Estimation of ecological high flow. Hydrol Process 20(2):319–328
Liu CM, Zhang SF (2002) Drying up of the Yellow River: its impacts and counter-measures. Mitig Adapt Strategies Glob Chang 7:203–214
Mogens RF, Miguel AP, Ana IL et al (1999) Nutrient cycling and plant dynamics in estuaries: a brief review. Acta Oecol 20(4):237–248
Montagna PA, Alber M, Doering P et al (2002) Freshwater inflow: science, policy, management. Estuaries 25:1243–1245
Peirson WL, Bishop K, Van SD et al (2002) Environmental water requirements to maintain estuarine processes’. WRL technical report number 3, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales
Powell GL, Matsumoto J, Brock DA (2002) Methods for determining minimum freshwater inflow needs of Texas Bays and estuaries. Estuaries 25(6B):1262–1274
Richter BD, Mathews R, Harrison DL et al (2003) Ecologically sustainable water management: managing river flows for ecological integrity. Ecol Appl 13:206–224
Tharme RE (2003) A global perspective on environmental flow assessment: emerging trends in the development and application of environmental flow methodologies for rivers. River Res Appl 19:397–441
Wang HJ, Yang ZS, Saito Y et al (2006) Interannual and seasonal variation of the Huanghe (Yellow River) water discharge over the past 50 years: connections to impacts from ENSO events and dams. Glob Planet Change 50(3–4):212–225
Xu ZX, Takeuchi K, Ishidaira H et al (2002) Sustainability analysis for Yellow River water resources using the system dynamics approach. Water Resour Manag 16:239–261
Yang ZF, Sun T, Qin XS (2005) Calculating method for quantifying environmental flows in estuaries: a case study of Haihe River Basin, China. J Environ Inform 6(2):72–79
Yu LS (2006) The Huanghe (Yellow) River: recent changes and its countermeasures. Cont Shelf Res 26(17–18):2281–2298
Zhang ZX, Wei YX, Yu GR (2003) Problems in ecosystem management in Yellow River Basin and the countermeasures. J Exp Bot 54(Suppl 1):61
Zhao YM, Song CS (1995) Scientific survey of the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve. China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, p 12 (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, T., Yang, Z.F. & Cui, B.S. Critical Environmental Flows to Support Integrated Ecological Objectives for the Yellow River Estuary, China. Water Resour Manage 22, 973–989 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-007-9205-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-007-9205-9