Response of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPPT) in the Wujiang catchment (China) to the construction of cascade hydropower stations

Citation

Sun J, Hunter PD, Cao Y, Doeser A & Li W (2018) Response of terrestrial net primary productivity (NPPT) in the Wujiang catchment (China) to the construction of cascade hydropower stations. Inland Waters, 8 (2), pp. 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1080/20442041.2018.1442672

Abstract
The damming of rivers results in hydrological modifications that not only affect the aquatic ecosystem but also adjoining terrestrial systems. Thirteen dams commissioned along the Wujiang River have induced ecological problems, including decreased water turbidity and loss of biodiversity, which potentially influence ecosystem net primary production (NPP) and hence the sequestration, transformation, and storage of carbon. We used terrestrial NPP (NPPT) as a bioindicator to assess the impact of dams on carbon storage in the Wujiang catchment. MODIS satellite and meteorological data were used as inputs to the CASA model to calculate annual NPPT from 2000 to 2014. NPPT was calculated at the catchment and landscape scale to quantify the impact of dams on surrounding terrestrial ecosystems. Mean NPPT was calculated for concentric buffer zones covering a range of spatial extents (0–10 km) from the reservoir shoreline. We found a negligible impact from construction of a single dam on NPPT at the catchment scale. By contrast, the impact of dam construction was scale-dependent, with a stronger landscape-scale effect observed at short distances (i.e., 0–1 km) from the reservoir. Decreases in NPPT were mainly ascribed to the loss of vegetated land resulting from dam impoundment and subsequent urbanization of the surrounding area.

Keywords
carbon flux; dam; catchment; land use change; reservoir limnology; riparian vegetation; terrestrial net primary productivity (NPPT); wetland ecology

Journal
Inland Waters: Volume 8, Issue 2

People

Dr Peter Hunter

SIEC/Forth-ERA Science Director, Scotland's International Environment Centre