Estimation of ecological water supplement for typical bird protection in the Yellow River Delta wetland

Authors: YU, XIAOYU - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; ZHU, WENBIN - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; WEI, JIAXING - Beijing Normal University; JIA, SHAOFENG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; WANG, ANDONG - Chinese Academy Of Sciences; Huang, Yanbo; ZHAO, YAJIE - Chinese Academy Of Sciences

Submitted to: Ecological Applications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/20/2021
Publication Date: 5/9/2021
Citation: Yu, X., Zhu, W., Wei, J., Jia, S., Wang, A., Huang, Y., Zhao, Y. 2021. Estimation of ecological water supplement for typical bird protection in the Yellow River Delta wetland. Ecological Applications. 127. Article 107783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107783.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107783

Interpretive Summary: Ecological studies are important for providing information to support decision making for sustainable development of agricultural systems. Scientists from Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University and USDA ARS Crop Production Systems Research Unit at Stoneville, Mississippi have collaboratively studied monthly ecological water supplement for the habitats of indicator bird species in the Yellow River Delta in China with a proposed method based on water balance analysis. The results of this study quantified the total annual ecological water supplement in the area under wet, average, dry and extreme dry conditions. If water storage measurements are implemented to store surplus precipitation under rainy season, the corresponding amount would decrease. The information of this study can be useful to determine the actual scheme of ecological water supplement, and help make rational decisions in management and conservation of water resources in this study area.

Technical Abstract: With abundant resources in the wetland, the Yellow River Delta provides important habitats for various kinds of rare bird species. However, due to climate change and human water withdrawal activities, no-flow events of the Yellow River occurred frequently since the 1970s, resulting in serious wetland degradation and biodiversity losses. Ecological water supplement has been regarded as one of the most effective measures to cope with these environmental problems. Accordingly, how much water is required for the ecological restoration becomes an essential question to be answered. Since the primary function of the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve (YRDNR), the typical wetland in the Yellow River Delta, is to provide suitable habitats for various rare bird species, the purpose of this paper is to propose a method based on water balance analysis to specify monthly ecological water supplement for the habitats of indicator bird species in this natural reserve. Specifically, three indicator bird species were selected as the protection objects, including Grus japonensis, Ciconia boyciana, and Larus saundersi. Monthly water supplement was determined based on long-term time series data (2003-2018) of monthly actual evapotranspiration product derived from remote sensing and monthly meteorological data (precipitation and pan evaporation) acquired from National Meteorological Information Center. The results showed that the annual ecological water supplement for 10km2 ideal habitats is 666.17×104 m3, 1165.22×104 m3, and 664.48×104 m3 for G. japonensis, C. boyciana, and L. saundersi, respectively. Besides, it was found that the annual precipitation generally had a significant negative relation with annual ecological water supplement, which suggested that local precipitation should be considered as a key factor in determining the amount of annual water supplement. The frequency analysis was then implemented to provide reasonable scheme of actual ecological water supplement under different precipitation scenarios. The results indicated that total annual ecological water supplement for the whole YRDNR is 1.81×108 m3, 1.94×108 m3, 2.10×108 m3 and 2.25×108 m3 respectively under wet, average, dry and extreme dry conditions. If water storage measurements are implemented to store surplus precipitation under rainy season, the corresponding amount would decrease by 13.26%, 9.28%, 5.71% and 2.22%, respectively.