Anthropogenic and Climatic Factors Differentially Affect Waterbody Area and Connectivity in an Urbanizing Landscape: A Case Study in Zhengzhou, China

Chang Liu, Emily S. Minor, Megan B. Garfinkel, Bo Mu and Guohang Tian
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Chang Liu: College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
Emily S. Minor: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Megan B. Garfinkel: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
Bo Mu: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
Guohang Tian: College of Landscape Architecture and Art, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-23

Abstract: Urbanization alters the distribution and characteristics of waterbodies, potentially affecting both the habitat availability and connectivity for aquatic wildlife. We used Landsat satellite imagery to observe temporal and spatial changes in open-water habitats in Zhengzhou, a rapidly growing city in central China. We classified open water into six categories: perennial rivers, seasonal rivers and streams, canals, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. From 1990 to 2020, in 5-year intervals, we identified, counted, and measured the area of each kind of waterbody, and we used a model selection approach with linear regressions to ask which climate and anthropogenic drivers were associated with these changes. We also used Conefor software to examine how these changes affected the landscape connectivity for waterfowl. Over the study period, lakes and canals were the only waterbody types to show statistically significant changes in surface area, increasing by 712% and 236%, respectively. Changes in lakes and canals were positively correlated with the length of water pipeline in the city. The connectivity of waterbodies fluctuated over the same period, mirroring fluctuations in the perennial Yellow River. Ponds contributed very little to landscape connectivity, and the importance of reservoirs decreased over time. Conversely, canals played an increasingly important role in landscape connectivity over time. Counterintuitively, the connectivity of waterbodies increased in the built-up part of the city. Our results show that urbanization can have unexpected effects—both positive and negative—on the connectivity and area of open-water habitats. These effects are likely to be important for waterfowl and other aquatic organisms.

Keywords: urban waterbodies; climate change; rapid urbanization; landscape connectivity; anatidae habitat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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