How does damming a river destroy wetlands

Accordingly, it is because dams generate methane, a greenhouse gas. Methane is emitted from reservoirs that are stratified, in which the bottom layers are anoxic i.

In some cases, where flooded basins are wide and plants grow well as in Brazil , the amount of biomass converted to methane results in power generation that pollutes 3.

For humans, another disadvantage of the construction of dams is that if it is build close enough to residential areas, the relocation of residents will be necessary. This is true in the Three Gorges Dam in China [32]. The Three Gorges Dam will submerge a large area of land, forcing over a million people to relocate. Michael Cernea of the World Bank and Dr. Thayer Scudder. Dams constructed throughout the world caused far-reaching effect to the river basin [33].

It has important function in melding the regional water resource, reducing watering disaster and obtaining cleanly energy sources. It also controls the rivers, in adjusting the seasonal flux change, changing water temperature and chemical components, blocking the sediments, disarranging the river erosion and the process of geological aggradations, blocks the contact of water life networks, altering the landform of river system and so on.

This subject is based on traditional hydraulic engineering, absorbing and fusing ecological theories, then becoming a new engineering subject. Based on the principles of ecohydraulic engineering, we can take relevant countermeasures and some other measures to alleviate the disadvantages caused by dam construction. There for, this thesis brings forward some measures. Flood regulation means releasing water operated from the reservoir, and summered certain range of flooded areas or lower river delta.

The second principle is using the traditional and modern river basin synthesis development concept to exploit water resources, which can obtain the max benefits of water resource exploitation including currency benefits and noncurrency benefits. Some advanced ecosystem functions to human being depends on the periodical inundation. Flood regulation can be the measure of restoration or maintenance to the lower river ecosystem.

Strict management on the sub-areas for the different frequent flooded area should be practiced. For instance, some parts of United States to preserve the eco-environment character of flooded areas, the acts forbidden to exploit 10 years meet flooded area. Dam construction lead to the current velocity of flow accreted, which binged about fishes trace to propagate. To protect fish resources, we need to repair some fishway helping fishes through dam to arrive ascending spawn area.

Besides, we can set sound fitting on the fishway, which can lead the migrated fishes flitting upstream or lower reaches. Different spawning migration fishes have different living environment.

Taking sturgeon for example, the majority parts of them lived on north latitude 45 degree, which are Hokkaido of Japan, Ussuri River, Heilongjiang River and Songhua River of China. Furthermore, not each river has spawning migration fishes. There are mainly two measures in dealing with the spawning migration fishes problems. First, use engineering measures as building fish ladder and fishway and so on. Second, manual propagate to the spawning migration fishes. In the construction of Gezhouba Dam of Yangtze River, to deal with the problems of sturgeon, the government chooses the manual propagation, and it has been proved successful [27].

To ostensive is that constructing dams in different region or rivers with different effects to fishes and other species. We should analyze the specific river. Dam construction intercepted upriver water resource and made contamination trapped in reservoir. Therefore, we should reduce the contamination caused by industry, agriculture, life, pasture husbandry and fishery. We still need to cut off the contamination concentration in the river to avert accumulating, depositing and concentrating, and then alleviate the destroyed degree of water quality caused by dam construction.

Dam construction, like a coin, has its two sides. How to exploit favorable conditions and avoid unfavorable ones is the business of dam architects, dam constructors and dam managers. Only taking the ultimate aim of improving the ecosystem and sustainable development [35], and using environmental appraise deeply, setting down dam running mode to take advantage of ecosystem, can our dam construction be better.

We should study the disadvantages caused by dam engineering, and demonstrate the feasibility of dam construction project. Through the factors such as humanism, society, ecology, natural resource, climate changes and river sediment, we need a synthesized analysis. We should distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of dam constructions. Moreover, we should promote the beneficial aspects and alleviate the negative effects caused by dam construction. Qi and X. Mitsch and S. Hauer and G.

Friedl and A. Mao, Y. Wang, W. Peng and H. Collier, R. Webb and J. Rosenberg, P. Mccully and C. CO;2 S. Liu and F. Power, W. Dietrich and J. Nilsson and M. Mann and M. Koel and R. Nilsson, R. Every dam works differently. Some are used for flood control, some for power generation, some for water distribution. Numerous other efforts are underway to help make needed sediment available for wetlands. Part of the answer, says Brett Milligan, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at the University of California, Davis, is changing the way we think about sediment.

To that end he and colleagues formed the Dredge Research Collaborative and created DredgeFest , a series of conferences around the country attended by scientists, government officials, conservationists and the public to raise awareness about the essential role of sediment in ecosystems. Over the next four years, researchers will see how well the vegetation comes back thanks to the sediment. Around the world the search is on for ways to restore sediment flows. For up two weeks each year, massive amounts of both clear and sediment-filled water is flushed below the dam to allow it to flow down the river.

In the San Francisco Bay area, one experiment with dredged sediment will harness natural forces. In the long run though, sediment replenishment projects can only do so much. Sea levels are projected to rise this century by three to six feet, and possibly more. Stanley A. Systat 9. Statistics I and II. SPSS Inc. Taylor G.

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Download references. Funds for this project were supplied by grants from Environment Australia and Land and Water Research Development Corporation through their wetlands program. The Natural Heritage Trust also provided funding. We thank those who assisted with aerial surveys. You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar.

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Skip to main content. Search SpringerLink Search. Figure 1. Figure 2. Forest areas totaling 9 million hectares have been submerged as a result of the 1,odd dams constructed between and Ecosystems supporting flora and fauna were obliterated overnight. Unlike humans, wild animals are incapable of being forewarned of impending floods and this creates panic among them. Wary of leaving their habitat, some of them simply drown and the more fortunate migrate to safer but unknown territories. Canals or drainage for irrigation purposes can also act as obstructions to wildlife habitats; so can power lines cutting through forest patches.

Dams also affect the biosphere by way of greenhouse emissions. Nearly dam projects are currently in the pipeline worldwide. This spells danger to the 4, unique species of fish in just three major rivers systems alone — the Amazon, the Mekong and the Congo. What lies in store in numerous other river systems of the world are the extinction of many fish and other aquatic species, the decimation of floodplains, wetlands and farmlands that support a vast array of bird life, and erosion of coastal deltas.

As communities begin to realize that the environmental, economic, and cultural consequences of dams outweigh the benefits, dam removal is becoming a popular occurrence. Removing dams helps to restore ecosystems and river flow for wild animals while restoring natural nutrient flow and sediment and nutrient flow. Dam removal can also eliminate safety issues in a community, protect wetlands and coastal beaches, improve community water quality, restore recreational opportunities, and save taxpayer money.

To meet the needs of a burgeoning human population, plundering of natural resources and destruction of the world's ecosystem have been resorted to, posing a grievous threat to the future of Earth's wildlife.

Among the millions of pinpricks inflicted on nature by man, one has been the wanton construction of dams. Despite the construction of such a huge multitude of dams, over a billion people still are deprived of clean drinking water. Two billion are bereft of basic sanitation, and a similar number still lack electricity. Scientific studies have shown that dams are not the green, clean and economical source of electricity they are made out be.