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The Effects of River Control and Climatic and Hydrological Changes on the State of Floodplain and Delta Ecosystems of the Lower Don

  • SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF ARID TERRITORIES
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Abstract

The terrestrial floodplain ecosystems of the Lower Don are still poorly studied, although almost the entire lower reaches of the Don are regulated by reservoirs and low-head hydroelectric systems, which significantly change ecosystems and landscapes. The research was carried out according to our own methodology. Field studies were carried out on five model ecological profiles with a detailed analysis of vegetation and the position of surface groundwater at model points. Desk studies included analysis of statistical hydrological materials and satellite images from Landsat 2, 3, and 5 and Sentinel-2, as well as the determination of the state of the ecosystems and landscapes using a two-stage methodology for assessing disturbances in terrestrial ecosystems and landscapes as a result of changes in the water level in the study area. It has been revealed that the main factor influencing the change in the biotic components of ecosystems in the Lower Don reaches is the reduction in the amplitude of fluctuations in water discharges (and levels) in the annual cycle as a result of the river control and climate changes. The decrease in the frequency of flooding of the floodplain and delta areas by almost 4 times along with a 3.5 times decrease in spring flood discharges and a 2.2 to 2.3 times increase in low-water discharges (both winter and summer–autumn flows) has led not only to a rise of the Don channel level by more than 2.5 m, but also to a rise and stabilization of the groundwater level (GWL) in the floodplain and delta of the Lower Don, which has involved a succession of communities of the upper and middle floodplains by nontypical invasive species. On the upper floodplain, native oak and elm forests have been almost completely replaced by green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) and boxelder maple (Acer negundo) forests. Typical willow (Salix alba) forests on the middle floodplain are replaced by indigobush (Amorpha fruticosa) forests in the near-channel floodplain and oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia) forests in the central parts of the floodplain. The forb meadows of the middle floodplain are replaced by almost monodominant reed-grass (Calamagrostis epigeios) meadows with thorny weeds of thistle (Cirsium) and cocklebur (Xanthium) species. Newly formed nontypical floodplain communities are better resistant to a year-round steadily high GWL. Assessment of the disturbance of the water level in the ecosystems and landscapes on a 5-point scale according to our own methodology has shown that the least disturbed (two of the five possible points) areas are the areas that are most distant from the hydraulic structures, namely, areas in the new and old Don deltas. The other profiles (3–5), located in the impact zone of the hydraulic structures, have a moderate degree of disturbance (three points), which currently requires only local hydraulic and forest engineering drainage measures, rather than changes in the hydrological regime of the river.

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Notes

  1. The Latin names of plants are given according to S.K. Cherepanov (1995).

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to V.Yu. Georgievskii for assistance in obtaining the hydrological data.

Funding

The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 21-77-00018 Patterns of the Dynamics of the State of Landscapes of River Floodplains in the Zone of Insufficient Moisture under Conditions of Hydrological and Climate Changes) in terms of developing and analyzing hypsometric profiles and flood levels and mapping the water table, as well as by the Institute of Water Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences (no. FMWZ-2022-0002) Studies of Geoecological Processes in Hydrological Land Systems, the Formation of the Quality of Surface and Ground Waters, and Problems of Water Resources and Water Use Management under Conditions of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Impacts in terms of analyzing hydrological changes and the state of floodplains landscapes. Field studies were carried out within the research work of the Federal Scientific Center of Agroecology, Russian Academy of Sciences (no. FNFE-2022-003 Theoretical Foundations for the Functioning and Natural-Anthropogenic Transformation of Agro-forest Landscape Complexes in Transitional Natural Geographical Zones. Patterns and Prediction of Their Degradation and Desertification Based on Geoinformation Technologies, Aerospace Methods, and Mathematical–Cartographic Modeling under Current Conditions). Hydrological data were provided within the framework of Civil Law Contract no. 78/1-NIR/FTsP-2018 dated December 19, 2018 for research work on the implementation of the federal target program Development of the Water Management Complex of the Russian Federation in 2012–2020, topic Scientific Generalization of Hydrological Monitoring Data in the Form of a Scientific and Applied Reference Edition on the Main Hydrological Characteristics of Water Bodies in the Don River Basin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Water Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119333, Moscow, Russia

    Zh. V. Kuzmina

  2. Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997, Moscow, Russia

    S. S. Shinkarenko

  3. Federal Scientific Center of Agroecology, Integrated Land Reclamation and Protective Afforestation, Russian Academy of Sciences, 400062, Volgograd, Russia

    D. A. Solodovnikov

  4. Volgograd State University, 400062, Volgograd, Russia

    D. A. Solodovnikov

  5. State Hydrological Institute, 199004, St. Petersburg, Russia

    M. L. Markov

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  1. Zh. V. Kuzmina
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  2. S. S. Shinkarenko
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  3. D. A. Solodovnikov
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  4. M. L. Markov
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Correspondence to Zh. V. Kuzmina, S. S. Shinkarenko, D. A. Solodovnikov or M. L. Markov.

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Translated by D. Zabolotny

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Kuzmina, Z.V., Shinkarenko, S.S., Solodovnikov, D.A. et al. The Effects of River Control and Climatic and Hydrological Changes on the State of Floodplain and Delta Ecosystems of the Lower Don. Arid Ecosyst 12, 361–373 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079096122040126

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