IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i11p6654-d827230.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Relationship between Hydrological Connectivity Changes Inside and Outside Biodiversity Hotspots and Its Implication for Sustainable Environmental Management

Author

Listed:
  • Wenhui Bao

    (Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province for Cold-Regions Wetlands Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin University, Harbin 150086, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Xingyu Zeng

    (National and Local Joint Laboratory of Wetland and Ecological Conservation, Institute of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Chunyu Luo

    (National and Local Joint Laboratory of Wetland and Ecological Conservation, Institute of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040, China)

  • Hongqiang Zhang

    (National and Local Joint Laboratory of Wetland and Ecological Conservation, Institute of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040, China)

  • Yi Qu

    (National and Local Joint Laboratory of Wetland and Ecological Conservation, Institute of Natural Resources and Ecology, Heilongjiang Academy of Sciences, Harbin 150040, China)

  • Nan Xu

    (Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province for Cold-Regions Wetlands Ecology and Environment Research, Harbin University, Harbin 150086, China)

Abstract

The conservation management of biodiversity hotspots is of vital significance for biological conservation. For wetlands, which are a special type of ecosystems that are based on water as their main medium, a decline in external hydrological connectivity often leads to wetland degradation inside biodiversity hotspots. In this context, the relationship between hydrological connectivity changes inside and outside hotspots is worth exploring. Based on the wetland biodiversity hotspots identified using systematic conservation planning, this study selected eight representative biodiversity hotspots with concentrated area. Integral index of connectivity, probability of connectivity (representing structural connectivity), and morphological spatial pattern analysis (representing functional connectivity) were used to analyze the hydrological connectivity changes inside various hotspots for 1995–2015. By taking the catchment area involved as the minimum basin perimeter, this study calculated the external hydrological connectivity changes of various hotspots during this period and analyzed the relationship between hydrological connectivity changes inside and outside of hotspots. The internal and external hydrological connectivity of wetland biodiversity hotspots were found to be significantly correlated. Moreover, the internal hydrological connectivity of hotspots not only declined with declining external structural connectivity, but also changed with the proportion of core wetlands, the proportion of edge wetlands, and the proportion of branch corridors. In addition, hotspots located at intersections of high-grade rivers were more significantly affected by climate change than by human activities and their hydrological connectivity increased with increasing rainfall. The internal hydrological connectivity of hotspots near low-grade rivers presented a declining trend, mainly because of human activities. This study clarified the relationship between internal and external hydrological connectivity of wetland biodiversity hotspots. Targeted internal and external control strategies are proposed, with the aim to offer references for the conservation of wetland biodiversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenhui Bao & Xingyu Zeng & Chunyu Luo & Hongqiang Zhang & Yi Qu & Nan Xu, 2022. "The Relationship between Hydrological Connectivity Changes Inside and Outside Biodiversity Hotspots and Its Implication for Sustainable Environmental Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-14, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:11:p:6654-:d:827230
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/11/6654/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/11/6654/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dao Nguyen Khoi & Van Thinh Nguyen & Truong Thao Sam & Pham Thi Thao Nhi, 2019. "Evaluation on Effects of Climate and Land-Use Changes on Streamflow and Water Quality in the La Buong River Basin, Southern Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Malay Naskar & Koushik Roy & Gunjan Karnatak & Saurav Kumar Nandy & Aparna Roy, 2018. "Quantifying climate change induced threats to wetland fisheries: a stakeholder-driven approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(6), pages 2811-2830, December.
    3. Stephen M. Chignell & Melinda J. Laituri & Nicholas E. Young & Paul H. Evangelista, 2019. "Afroalpine Wetlands of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia: Distribution, Dynamics, and Conceptual Flow Model," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 109(3), pages 791-811, May.
    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. Sunam Chatterjee & Kunal Chakraborty & Shambhu Nath Sing Mura, 2022. "Investigating the present status, spatial change, and emerging issues related to riparian wetlands of Bhagirathi–Jalangi Floodplain (BJF) in lower deltaic West Bengal, India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 7388-7434, May.
    2. Xilai Li & Jing Zhang & Jay Gao, 2022. "A Topographic Perspective on the Propensity for Degradation of Plateau Swampy Meadows in Maduo County, West China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Yuk San Liew & Safari Mat Desa & Md. Nasir Md. Noh & Mou Leong Tan & Nor Azazi Zakaria & Chun Kiat Chang, 2021. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Mitigation Strategies for Flood Risk Reduction in the Segamat River Basin, Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    4. Catherine C. Sang & Daniel O. Olago & Tobias O. Nyumba & Robert Marchant & Jessica P. R. Thorn, 2022. "Assessing the Underlying Drivers of Change over Two Decades of Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics along the Standard Gauge Railway Corridor, Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Mustafa Tufekcioglu & Richard C. Schultz & Thomas M. Isenhart & John L. Kovar & James R. Russell, 2020. "Riparian Land-Use, Stream Morphology and Streambank Erosion within Grazed Pastures in Southern Iowa, USA: A Catchment-Wide Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-13, August.
    6. Junchao Jiang & Leting Lyu & Yuechi Han & Caizhi Sun, 2021. "Effect of Climate Variability on Green and Blue Water Resources in a Temperate Monsoon Watershed, Northeastern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-13, February.

    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:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:11:p:6654-:d:827230. 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.