Hydrological connectivity dynamics of tidal flat systems impacted by severe reclamation in the Yellow River Delta

Chengjie Xie; Baoshan Cui; Tian Xie; Shuling Yu; Zezheng Liu; Cong Chen; Zhonghua Ning; Qing Wang; Yuxuan Zou; Xiaojing Shao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139860

Hydrological connectivity dynamics of tidal flat systems impacted by severe reclamation in the Yellow River Delta

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Oct 15:739:139860. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139860. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Authors

Chengjie Xie¹, Baoshan Cui², Tian Xie¹, Shuling Yu¹, Zezheng Liu³, Cong Chen⁴, Zhonghua Ning¹, Qing Wang¹, Yuxuan Zou¹, Xiaojing Shao¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, 257500, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, 257500, China. Electronic address: cuibs@bnu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, 257500, China; Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Yellow River Estuary Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education, Shandong, 257500, China; Research and Development Center for Watershed Environmental Eco-Engineering, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, 519087, China.

PMID: 32544677
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139860

Abstract

River deltas contain complex self-organizing channel networks that continuously exchange fluxes of water, matter, energy, and information with their surroundings. The connectivity of these exchange processes plays a crucial role in controlling the evolution and dynamic stability of river deltas. However, connectivity patterns related to tidal channel networks have rarely been studied, especially in the Yellow River Delta (YRD), which is impacted by severe reclamation. Here, we evaluated the potential hydrological connectivity dynamics between the tidal channel network and its surroundings using an index of connectivity (IC) in the whole YRD and its three sub-regions: erosion zone, oil field zone and deposition zone. The results suggested that different areas had different spatial connectivity potential. The mean value of the IC related to the channel networks showed little difference for any zones. However, the total connectivity response area (CRA; set of connectivity response units) varied with the study scale. A decreasing trend was found on the delta scale and a relatively stable trend was found in the deposition zone. In terms of dynamic connectivity, the tidal flat system did not show a continuous trend over time. Our results indicated that the YRD is such a dynamic complex that a relatively stable connectivity pattern is unlikely to be achieved over time. Therefore, future ecological restoration based on hydrological connectivity needs to consider more related influencing factors and their temporal and spatial dynamics.

Keywords: Coastal wetlands; Connectivity index; Geostatistical analysis; Hydrological connection; Tidal channel network.