How Liajiaxia Hydropower Plant Disturbs Kanbula Forest Ecosystem - Case Study Example

Kanbula Forest Kanbula Rain Forest is located in Northwest of Jianza County of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous States in Qinghai Province, with total area of 4774 hectares and altitude of 2100 to 4000 meters above sea level (China Ecotourism 2009). Because of its location at high altitude, Kanbula Forest falls in the category of subalpine forest .The forest is also located in the transition zone from Loess Plateau to Qinghai Tibet Plateau. Thus, it is the warmest region in Qinghai Province. It borders on the Yellow River in the North and is adjunct to the Liajiaxia Hydroelectric Power Station (China Ecotourism 2009). Huge mountains extend from the forest with trees covered resembling a sea of forest. The are deflated hills around the Kanbula Forest that are formed due to erosion from wind and sand. The hills are called red cloud landforms (China Ecotourism 2009). Amid the mountains, the weather of the forest change frequently. The forest does not experience four distinct weathers, but the hot and cold weathers that it experience are divided into two quarters. Cold seasons at the forest features cold, windy and dry air. Warm season features monsoon and warm and humid air. The forest’s tough topographical features form a role of microclimate. According to meteorological data records, the average temperature of the forest is l-2.9. The warmest month (July) has a daily temperature of 11.5-13.4. The coldest month (January) has average daily temperature -12-10.1. 3-9 month average is temperature of 7-8.4 ℃; stable over time through 0 ℃ for 190 days; plant growing period mean diurnal temperature 13.l ℃, frost-free period is about 120 1 134 days; ≥ 0 ℃, ≥ 5 ℃, ≥ l0 ℃ accumulated temperature were A 1500 ℃ 1800 ℃, 1300 ℃ for a 1700 ℃, 900 ℃ for a 1100 ℃. 2622-2900 hours of annual sunshine hours, global solar radiation 609-647 kJ / cm. Annual rainfall is 450-490 mm, annual evaporation 1923 mm. Annual average wind speed 19 meters / second, more concentrated in the January-April. Kanbula forest’s soil has five categories. First type is alpine shrub meadow soil that is found at the altitude between 3600 and 3900 meters. Second is the upland meadow shrub soil that is found at an altitude between 3200 and 3700 meters. Third is the grey cinnamon soil that is found at 2600 and 3400 elevation. Fourth type is the chestnut soil that is found at an altitude of 2600 and 2800 meters. Fifth is the grey desert soil that is found at an elevation below 2400 meters (Qinghai Forest Survey Records). Huge mountains extend everywhere from the Kanbula Forest and the forest coverage rate is 28%. Dominant species of trees in the forest are Qinghai spruce, mountain Yang, birch, pine and spruce evergreen. These trees are tolerant to cold and poor condition and are rooted in the cliff walls. Due to poor conditions, these plants grow tall and straight. The main flowers and species that grow here are species of azalea, glabra, Potentilla fructicosa honeysuckle, Caragana, rose, Berberis, daisy and buckthorns. Animals of Kanbula Forest are deer, Argali, Shiyang, Braun, Ma chicken, Musk and cuckoo. The total forest area is about 15, 054.4 hectares. The woodland area accounts for 9949.3 hectares, while non-woodland area accounts for 5105.1 hectares. 1934.1 hectares account for shrub land and 141 hectares for immature woodland. The common tree species of the forest mostly stand in young and middle age stage, thus they have strong growth potential. Forest total standing stock is 532,669.2 cubic meters of which forest stock volume is 530,945.2. The amount of zonal distribution of vegetation is not significant but most significant vertical belts are the ones at 2780-3500 meters above sea level with distribution of birch, pine, spruce and other trees. 3500-4000 meters above sea level with the distribution of Potentilla fruiticosa, thyme, Caragana and other trees and shrubs. At a altitude of 4000-4500 meters the main shrubs are gentian, Stipa and blue-green. Liujiaxia Hydro Power Plant The Liujiaxia dam is located on the upper Yellow River. The reservoir is the largest body of water within Gansu. The main purpose of the dam is generation of hydroelectric power but it is also used for flood control and irrigation (International Association of Engineering Geology). The hydro power plant of the dam has five generators with total installed capacity of 1,225MW (International Association of Engineering Geology). When it became operational it was the country’s biggest power plant and it remained so until the 1980s (Jun Jing pp25-27). In 1955 just after creation of China, the government announced a large-scale program of construction of hydroelectric power plant on Yellow River (Jun Jing pp25-27). It was the first hydro power plant that introduced the concept of bidding and tendering in China. According to the plan, one dam was built in each of the Three Gorges of the Yellow River; Liujia Gorge, Yanguo Gorge and Bapan Gorge (International Association of Engineering Geology). In 1958, the construction on first three dams was started and the Liujiaxia Dam was completed in 1969 (Jun Jing pp25-27). The generators were brought into working between 1969 and 1974 (Liujiaxia Hydroelectric Power Plant). The water reservoirs created by three dams displaced large number of local farmers. The three dams flooded 7781 hectares of farmland and displaced 43,829 local residents (Jun Jing pp 25-27). The compensation payment to the farmers displaced averaged 365 Yuan per person and was very inadequate. Environmental Hazards Caused by Hydroelectric Power Plant. Large reservoirs of water that is required for construction of hydroelectric power plants result in destruction of large areas of land that is very productive and biologically rich in nutrients. The situation exacerbates by the fact that large water dams cause fragmentation of the habitat of the surrounding areas. Hydroelectric Power Plants can also be destructive to aquatic ecosystem. The dams along Pacific and Atlantic course have reduced the fish population especially that of Salmon by preventing the fish of to reach breeding grounds upstream. Hydroelectric power plant also affects downstream river environment. Water coming out of the turbine usually contains very little suspended sediment that leads to river scouring and loss of riverbanks and riverbeds (Sedimentation Problems with Dams). Since turbine gates are cyclically opened, changes in river flow is observed. Water coming out of the turbines is usually warmer than water behind the dam and thus the aquatic faunal life is affected. Hydroelectric Power Plants in tropical regions produce huge amount of methane and carbon dioxide gas. This is because plant materials in flooded areas decay due to anaerobic conditions and form methane gas, which is a harmful green house gas. According to the World Commission Dam Report (WCD Final Report), where the reservoir is large compared to the generating capacity (less than 100 watts per square meter of surface area) and no clearing of the forests in the area was undertaken prior to impoundment of the reservoir, greenhouse gas emissions from the reservoir may be higher than those of a conventional oil-fired thermal generation plant (Hydroelectric Power’s Dirty Secret Revealed). Another disadvantage of hydroelectric power plant is that population is displaced. People need to relocate from places that are allotted for dam construction. According to estimation in February 2008, 40-80 million people have lost their homes because of dam construction (Briefing on World Commission on Dams). Liujiaxia Hydro Power Plant Disturbs Kanbula Forest Ever since the Liujiaxia Hydro Power Plant is established, there have been several changes in the ecosystem of the Kanbula Forest. Some of the plant and animal species of the forest are becoming vulnerable and extinct. The deep ground excavation and filling, construction of dams, water reservoirs, spoil pipes and roads have shifted the woodland areas. This relatively has created some negative impacts on the ecosystem of the Kanbula Forest. Parts of vegetation of the forest near the hydropower plant have been lost and the total forest coverage area has reduced. In addition, losses to the forest’s ecosystem have been immense. For instance, commuter construction causes an immense degree of soil erosion, which results in loss of benefits of forest protection. Water reservoirs are also harmful for the ecosystem because, construction of water reservoirs allows evaporation of water through open reservoirs and thus reduce the ability of the soil to hold water. In addition, water reservoirs that are constructed as artificial lakes attract tourists and thus the human activity near the hydropower plant increases and disturb the ecosystem of the forest. Analyzing the Impacts on Growth Status of Plants in Kanbula Forest Although waterpower is a clean power, which produces no green house gases and no radioactive gases or other harmful and toxic wastes creation of large water reservoirs have some harmful affects. According to the records of Qinghai forestry department, construction of large dams and water reservoirs not only flood large areas of land that could have had other use, the Liujiaxia dam traps sediments from Yellow River that replenishes the sediment on the on the side of the beach. This has resulted in loss of 3.185hm2 of forest vegetation and scouring of riverbeds due to loss of sedimentation has influenced the growing environment of the plants. The huge water reservoirs constructed near the Kanbula forest have altered the transformation and distribution of heat and this is the key feature that has caused regional microclimate circumstances called the “lake effective”. The ‘lake effect’ alters the regional precipitation of the forest and it causes an annual temperature increase of 0.1oC to 0.2oC. However, these affects do not change the climate of the whole of the forest. Plant species in the Kanbula Forest have changed and they have been forced to adapt to the current environmental status. Thus, the forest has suffered the loss of some rare vegetation. Other plant species have become nutrient deficient that have made them ecologically and economically less valuable. For instance, wolfberry a plant of cotoneaster specie found in Kanbula forest has great economic and ecological value for development. Wolfberry is strongly resistant to changes in light and temperature and its soil requirements are less stringent. From the main distribution area the general annual temperature that wolfberry needs to grow is 5.6-12.6oC. Wolfberry plant has a developed root system and has two growing seasons and two flowering season. Starting from late April to late June is its growing period and the following September is its flowering and fruiting period. Wolfberry relies very little on soil and thus it can grow in domination of chestnut soil that has very little water holding capacity and very little aeration. The Liujiaxia hydropower plant is constructed on the altitude base that is dominated with chestnut soil. In addition, the loss of replenishment of the beach because of loss of sedimentation has resulted in loss of originative plants like wolfberry and these plants have been replaced by small size, low tolerant epiphytes. Since water reservoirs have accelerate the evaporation of water compared to pre condition, wolfberry, which is a tolerant plant is forced to adapt to new condition and its growth is stunted and its ability to hold water in the soil strengthens. The Affects on Habitats Environnement. Liujiaxia Hydro power Plant has affected the suitable habitat and environmental conditions of wildlife living in Kanbula Forest. The habitat areas of the wildlife have reduced. The ecological environment of the habitat has changed. As mentioned earlier, construction of water reservoirs and dams flood large tracts of land that could have been used for other activities like vegetation and woodland area. The dams obstruct the migration of fish and this causes ecological disturbance. Large area of forest is used to store water to generate clean energy. However, the formation of ‘lake effective’ attracts birds and lead to development of new habitats and species. Although during the construction of Liujiaxia Hydropower Plant Station, the concerned departments have tried to control damage to local resources, human activity is a major source of destruction and it is hard to control human activity. Noises that are created during construction of damns, cause great disturbance to the wildlife as noises confuse the wildlife activity and disturb their existent habitat. Due to noises, animal species had to leave their habitat due to which the whole food web of the forest changed, which cause serious ecosystem turbulence. This caused some of the fragile species of the forest to become rare or extinct. For example, blue sheep animal specie of the Kanbula forest faced huge problems due to the construction of the hydropower plant. It is very rare specie of the forest and it lives at a certain altitude and topography of the forest. According to Qinghai Forestry Department, to monitor wildlife population, to conserve and manage harvest specie, and to understand population changes since the construction of Liujiaxia Hydropower Plant, distance-sampling methods has been adopted. Distance sampling method has also been adopted to estimate seasonal density of blue sheep in certain areas of Kanbula Forest region from 2002 to 2005. In all, mean group size ranged from 2.12 to 7.65 individuals during the season. Density estimates varied between 3420 sheep per square kilometers in spring 2002 and 2170 square kilometer in late spring 2004 (Kanbula forest monitor and control status report).Analysis and survey of this data shows, blue sheep population has trended down ever since the construction of hydropower plant next to the Kanbula forest. The population of blue sheep is becoming even less because of human activities. Construction of Liujiaxia Hydropower Plant has developed tourism in the area and has created jobs that has lead to development of towns and have increased human activity. Also commuter facility construction and town construction use huge areas of land of the forest, where previously blue sheep used to be active throughout the day and used to alternate feed and rest on the grassy mountain slopes. Disturbances caused by human activities in the natural habitat of the blue sheep, forced the blue sheep to move up to other mountainous areas, to avoid human interference in their lives. The consequence of construction of Liujiaxia Hydropower Plant has created a disorder in the food web of Kanbula Hydropower Plant, which has resulted in loss of predators and have caused ecological disturbance on other species. In addition, displacement of blue sheep population on upper mountainous areas has resulted in over grazing of the upper mountain epiphyte vegetation. Thus, the major impact of construction of Liujiaxia Hydropower Plant has been on the biodiversity and reservoir zone environment of the Kanbula Forest. Part of the dam has destroyed the natural habitat of fauna of the forest and has caused the terrestrial and land plants to live in extremely stringent condition. Works Cited 1 China Ecotourism 2009.www.at0086.com/Kanbula 2.International Association of Engineering Geology . Proceedings, Fifth International 3.Congress, International Association of Engineering Geology, International Association of Engineering Geology. 1986 4.Jun Jing . The Temple of Memories: History, Power, and Morality in a Chinese Village Stanford University Press. 1998 pp. 25-27. ISBN 0804727570 http://books.google.com.au/books?id=3leAld7M7p0C. 5. Sedimentation Problems with Dams. http://internationalrivers.org/en/node/1476 6.Briefing on World Commission on Damshttp://internationalrivers.org/en/way-forward/world-commission-dams/world-commission-dams-framework-brief-introduction 7.WCD Findal Report, Retrieved 7/10/2009 http://www.dams.org/report/ 8.Hydroelectric powers dirty secret revealed http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7046   Read More