Author(s): Huiqun Cao; Qingyun Li; Weihua Zhao; Zhenhua Wang
Linked Author(s): Huiqun Cao, Weihua Zhao, Zhenhua Wang, Qingyun Li
Keywords: Ecological environment impacts; Rural hydropower; Yangtze River basin; Water quality; Aquatic organisms
Abstract: The rural hydropower stations play an important role in satisfying the requirements of electricity for rural working and living conditions. However, its unreasonable plan and disorder development cause great destructions to the ecological environment in some rivers in recent years. A case study of rural hydropower in the Yangtze River basin, which was divided into three zones, was carried out for assessing effects of rural hydropower development on the ecological environment, by the methods of documentary research, investigating, field monitoring, and laboratory experiments. The results indicated that, for the dam type hydropower, river discharge tended to uniform, nutrient and chlorophyll a increased at reservoir, community structures and standing crop of macrozoobenthos, phytoplankton and fish changed significantly. For the diversion type, the phenomenon of river ’s dry up was striking, and water quality of water reduced reaches became worse, but the influence on aquatic organisms was not significant. In response to the existing problems, environmental protection measures should be strengthened during the construction process of rural hydropower.
Year: 2013