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2013, 1(2): 1-14 |
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Madadi H, Ashrafzadeh M R. Impacts of Karkheh Dam on Spatial Pattern of Riparian Zones in Karkheh National Park. Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology 2013; 1 (2) :1-14
URL: http://ijae.iut.ac.ir/article-1-182-en.html
URL: http://ijae.iut.ac.ir/article-1-182-en.html
Dept. of Environ. Sci., College of Natur. Resour., Behbahan Khatam Alanbia Univ. Technol., Behbahan, Iran.
Abstract: (14425 Views)
Effective river ecosystem management requires that the existing hydrologic regime be characterized in terms of the natural hydrologic regime and the degree to which the human-altered regime differs from natural conditions. This is known as Range of Variation Approach (RVA) and can be used for variation of stream flow, range of variation and appraisal of dam impacts on riparian zones. In this paper, we used 31 hydrologic parameters, classified into five groups, monthly flow indices, extreme flow indices, timing indices, high-flow and low-flow indices, and rate of change, to assess hydrologic regime alteration in downstream of Karkheh dam. For this, purpose the hydrologic parameters of Pay-Pol hydrometric station have been taken. into consideration. As the Riparian ecosystems are highly dependent on and sensitive to variation in the hydrological cycle, the focus of this study was the 50-meter buffer of the Karkheh River. To examine the impacts caused by the variation of hydrologic regime, we tested if this variation and 8 different landscape metrics in the study area are correlated. The results showed that variation of hydrologic regime had a significant impact on the landscape structure of riparian zone in Karkheh downstream and caused isolation in landscape pattern of the woodland cover. Therefore, landscape structure in Karkheh downstream is highly correlated to hydrologic processes of upstream of the river. It can be concluded that an effective water management strategy is keeping safe the ecological condition and integrity of the riparian zone of Karkheh. This happens when all the hydrologic parameters are in the natural range of variation as they were before dam construction.
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