Environmental flow assessment for improvement of ecological integrity in the Haihe River Basin, China

The Haihe River Basin is a semiarid water resources area of China. River ecosystem was degraded for high population density and intensive water resources development activities. To assist in the improvement of the ecological integrity of this river ecosystem, an environmental flow assessment model was developed that consider both spatial structure and dominant eco-function parameters. River ecosystem was divided into three sub-ecosystems which including river reach, wetland and estuary based on the spatial structure of river ecosystem. River reach was divided into three types which including habitat restoration type (HR), water quality restoration type (WQR) and vegetation restoration substitute water quantity restoration type (VRSWQR) according to their dominant eco-function. The spatio-temporal distribution of environmental flow (EF) for the river ecosystem in the Haihe River Basin was assessed based on the model. The results indicate that the EF for the river reach, wetland, and estuary are 2.267, 1.532, and 0.972 billion m³, respectively. The EF for HR type of river reach, the WQR type of river reach and VRSWQR type of river reach are 1.140, 1.138, and 0.154 billion m³, which are equal to 4.320, 4.312, and 0.584 % of the average annual flow of 26.39 billion m³, respectively. EF for river ecosystem in wet period (June-September), normal period (October-January) and dry period (February-May) are 2.999, 0.951, and 0.821 billion m³, respectively. Annual EF for river ecosystem of the Basin are 4.771 billion m³, which accounts for 18 % of the average annual flows of 26.39 billion m³.