Adaptive ecological baseflow computation based on the ecological requirements: a case study in Weihe Basin, China

Abstract

A certain flow plays a key role in preventing the shrinkage and drying of the river while maintaining good functionality. In recent years, ecological baseflow has become an important research issue in China with the emergence of ecological protection. Various ecological baseflow methods and their improvement methods were proposed and applied, but the reliability and applicability of the results are yet to be verified. This paper proposes an advanced ecological baseflow computation-dynamic thematic evaluation service model by considering the ecological protection objectives. The method was applied to five key cross-sections of the Weihe River, and a set of recommended ecological baseflow values was obtained considering the connectivity, water environment, and water-sediment balance, which is in line with the actual requirements. The analysis shows that the method has reliability and operability, which can provide support for management decisions. HIGHLIGHTS Preselection of methods is positively helpful to the results’ reliability.; Applying multi-method approach in flow processes is more convincing than single ones.; The proposed correction can improve the simulation more close to practical requires.;

Keywords

• application requirements
• ecological baseflow
• evaluation and correction
• methodology summary