Assessing temporal and spatial alterations of flow regimes in the regulated Huai River Basin, China

摘要

The assessment of flow regime alterations is fundamental in understanding the potential impact of reservoirs and other water infrastructures on aquatic ecosystems and biota. Previously used methods to classify flow regimes have not captured temporal changes between unregulated and regulated flow regimes at individual stations. In this study, a combination of hierarchical classification and trend analysis was used to assess spatial and temporal flow regime alterations in the Huai River Basin, China. Two categories of flow regime indices were selected to characterize the impacts of reservoir and sluice regulation, including the basic flow indices for mean variation, and the cumulative variation indices for long-term alteration.