IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i24p16712-d1001615.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatial and Temporal Changes of Sand Mining in the Yangtze River Basin since the Establishment of the Three Gorges Dam

Author

Listed:
  • Yugai Ma

    (Department of Resource and Environment, Shijiazhuang University, Shijiazhuang 050035, China)

  • Yingying Chai

    (College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Y. Jun Xu

    (Coastal Studies Inst, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA)

  • Zijun Li

    (College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China)

  • Shuwei Zheng

    (College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250358, China
    Dongying Institute, Shandong Normal University, Dongying 257092, China)

Abstract

The global demand for sand and gravel is at 50 billion tons per year, far exceeding global resource capacities. It reached 7.6 billion tons in 2021 in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB), China. However, production is severely limited in the YRB. Therefore, the incongruity between the supply and demand of river sand is prominent. Wise management of decreasing sand resources in the YRB has become critical since the Three Gorges Dam became operational in 2003. This study synthesized spatial and temporal changes in sand mining activities and quantities along the Yangtze River and its major tributaries from 2004 to 2020. Results from the study show that the mining amount during the period reached 76.2 million tons annually. At the same time, riverine suspended sediment discharge (SSD) downstream of the Three Gorges Dam decreased largely. SSD reduction leads to riverbed erosion, further limiting the riverine sand and gravel sources for mining. Thus, alternative sand and gravel resources, as well as optimizing supply/demand balance, are necessary for sustainable development. There is an urgent need to assess the relationship between river sand resources and exploitation in the YRB for creating a sand and gravel data management system in order to cope with the increasing incongruity between their supply and demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Yugai Ma & Yingying Chai & Y. Jun Xu & Zijun Li & Shuwei Zheng, 2022. "Spatial and Temporal Changes of Sand Mining in the Yangtze River Basin since the Establishment of the Three Gorges Dam," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16712-:d:1001615
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16712/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16712/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marius Dan Gavriletea, 2017. "Environmental Impacts of Sand Exploitation. Analysis of Sand Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-26, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dimitrios Vlachopoulos & Rannveig Björk Thorkelsdóttir & Despoina Schina & Jóna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, 2023. "Teachers’ Experience and Perceptions of Sustainable Digitalization in School Education: An Existential Phenomenological Study of Teachers in Romania, Greece, Cyprus, Iceland, and The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Willam Trujillo & Joseph Cobo & Dayanna Vera-Cedeño & Alex Palma-Cando & Jorge Toro-Álava & Alfredo Viloria & Marvin Ricaurte, 2022. "Magnetic Separation and Enrichment of Fe–Ti Oxides from Iron Titaniferous Beach Sands: Process Design Applied to Coastal Ecuador," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Walter Leal Filho & Julian Hunt & Alexandros Lingos & Johannes Platje & Lara Werncke Vieira & Markus Will & Marius Dan Gavriletea, 2021. "The Unsustainable Use of Sand: Reporting on a Global Problem," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    4. Rajiv Sinha & Kanchan Mishra & Priyesh Salunke & Vidya Sounderajan, 2023. "Sustainable Silt Management in the Lower Kosi River, North Bihar, India: Demand Assessment, Investment Model and Socio-Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-20, October.
    5. Naveedh Ahmed S. & Le Hung Anh & Petra Schneider, 2020. "A DPSIR Assessment on Ecosystem Services Challenges in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: Coping with the Impacts of Sand Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-29, November.
    6. Alena Oulehlova & Irena Tušer & David Rehak, 2021. "Environmental Risk Assessment of a Diesel Fuel Tank: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-21, June.
    7. Clemens Mostert & Stefan Bringezu, 2022. "Biotic Part of the Product Material Footprint: Comparison of Indicators Regarding Their Interpretation and Applicability," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-16, June.
    8. John D. Morley & Rupert J. Myers & Yves Plancherel & Pablo R. Brito-Parada, 2022. "RETRACTED: A Database for the Extraction, Trade, and Use of Sand and Gravel," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-16, April.
    9. Eduardo Francisco Silva & Darlisson Fernandes Bento & Anderson Conceição Mendes & Fábio Góis Mota & Luiz Carlos Silva Mota & Arthur Iven Tavares Fonseca & Rodolfo Maduro Almeida & Livaldo Oliveira San, 2020. "Environmental impacts of sand mining in the city of Santarém, Amazon region, Northern Brazil," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 47-60, January.
    10. Dimitra Ioannidou & Guido Sonnemann & Sangwon Suh, 2020. "Do we have enough natural sand for low‐carbon infrastructure?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(5), pages 1004-1015, October.
    11. John D. Morley & Rupert J. Myers & Yves Plancherel & Pablo R. Brito-Parada, 2022. "A Database for the Stocks and Flows of Sand and Gravel," Resources, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16712-:d:1001615. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.