Relationship between the Main Communities and Environments of an Urban River and Reservoir: Considering Integrated Structural and Functional Assessments of Ecosystems

Dehao Tang, Xingjian Liu, Xutao Wang and Kedong Yin
Additional contact information
Dehao Tang: School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Xingjian Liu: CAS Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Guangzhou 510301, China
Xutao Wang: Scientific Institute of Pearl River Water Resources Protection, Guangzhou 510611, China
Kedong Yin: School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-22

Abstract: Rivers and reservoirs in urban areas have been associated with environmental quality problems because of the discharge of domestic waste into water bodies. However, the key effects and the extent to which environmental factors can influence the integrated structure and function of urban river ecosystems remain largely unknown. Here, a relationship model involving the species composition of the community and the various environmental factors related to the water and sediment was developed in the dry season (N) and the flood season (F) in both the urban Jiaomen River (JR) and the Baihuitian Reservoir (BR) of Guangzhou City. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to determine the spatiotemporal drivers of the phytoplankton, zooplankton and macrobenthic communities in the river and reservoir systems. The combination of the thermodynamic-oriented ecological indicators and the biodiversity measures reflected the integrated structure and function of the ecosystems. Overall, the plankton community composition was found to be largely determined by the nutrient concentrations and oxygen index, and the development of the macrobenthic communities was mainly restricted by organic matter and heavy metals. Based on the results of the integrated assessment, the structure and function of the JR ecosystem were superior to that of the BR, and the F period displayed healthier results than the N period. Moreover, the structural and functional statuses of the high eco-exergy grade communities (macrobenthic communities) in the ecosystem influenced the regional changes observed in the results of the integrated assessment. The significant seasonal variations in the plankton community affected the seasonal variations in the integrated assessment. The results of this study provide a scientific basis for the management and restoration of regional freshwater environments and ecosystems.

Keywords: community; water quality; sediment; eco-exergy; biodiversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2302/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/10/2302/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:10:p:2302-:d:176907

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().