Author(s): Xiaodong Qu; Min Zhang; Haiping Zhang; Wei Huang; Xiaobo Liu
Linked Author(s): Xiaodong Qu, HaiPing Zhang, Wei Po Huang, Min Zhang
Keywords: River health assessment hierarchical multiple indicators bioassessment
Abstract: River health assessment has become a hot topic and could provide important information for river management and restoration. In this study, we developed a river health assessment frames by using hierarchical multiple indicators. The river health condition were evaluated based on the ecosystem condition (including integrities of hydrological, physical, chemical, biological) and social services. Each of those integrity was calculated by three or four core indicators from the alternative indicators list. The selection of alternative indicators, optimization of core indicators, setting target and critical values for core indicators, and calculation final scores of river health condition were the main steps during the development of multiple indicators. Based on the river health assessment frame and data collection from twenty five rivers through the mainland of China, the river health conditions were evaluated. The scores of river health ranged from 27.0 to 77.6, covering the from the health condition to unhealth condition. And the sub-health status dominated the most of the assessed rivers. And the main stress to affect the river health condition included the land uses development (both urbanization and farmland), water conservancy constructions (such as dams and weirs, ), construction near the riparian, human activities both in the riparian and within the river channels, invasion of alien species. The scatter plot and linear regression analysis between the final scores and stress gradients confirmed the usefulness of river health assessment by using multiple indicators as a confident assessment method. Thus we highly recommend using multiple indicator for stable river health assessment and provide a reliable restoration strategies for better river management programs.
Year: 2025