Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

New insights on the surface hydrological connectivity of water depth thresholds in a flood-pulse-influenced floodplain system (Poyang Lake, China)

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Knowledge of hydrological connectivity and its threshold behaviors plays an important role in sustaining and managing floodplains; however, threshold behaviors at a system scale have not received adequate attention. This study used a geostatistical connectivity method in combination with hydrodynamic modeling experiments to provide new insights on the surface hydrological connectivity of water depth thresholds in a flood-pulse-influenced floodplain system (Poyang Lake, China). The results reveal that hydrological connectivity is more sensitive to changes in water depth during dry, rising, and receding water phases than in the flooding phase under different depth thresholds. Geographically, the connectivity patterns show that large water bodies are mainly distributed in the main lake and floodplain river channels; extensive floodplain areas are dynamically connected to the main lake, indicating that the lake's floodplain is a sensitive area of the flood pulse system. From a systemic perspective, the surface water connectivity exhibits abrupt changes under the depth threshold of around 50 cm, demonstrating a rapid system response to the threshold value. In the floodplains of Poyang Lake, surface topography and flood pulse dynamics play a combined role in affecting hydrological connectivity, especially low and intermediate connectivity. The filling-spilling process generally extends from the lower-lying main lake and floodplain rivers to the upper-lying floodplains of the lake. The current work quantifies the influences of depth thresholds on surface hydrological connectivity to pave the way for performing a joint assessment of hydrological connectivity and ecological responses based on developing comprehensive modellings in threshold-affected floodplains.

Graphic abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ali GA, Roy AG (2010) Shopping for hydrologically representative connectivity metrics in a humid temperate forested catchment. Water Resour Res 46:W12544

    Google Scholar 

  • Antoine M, Javaux M, Bielders C (2009) What indicators can capture runoff relevant connectivity properties of the micro-topography at the plot scale? Adv Water Resour 32:1297–1310

    Google Scholar 

  • Appels WM, Bogaart PW, van der Zee SEATM (2016) Surface runoff in flat terrain: how field topograohy and runoff generating processes control hydrological connectivity. J Hydrol 534:493–504

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennion DH, Manny BA (2014) A model to locate potential areas for lake sturgeon spawning habitat construction in the St. Clair-Detroit river system. J Gt Lakes Res 40:43–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonnet MP, Barroux G, Martinez JM, Seyler F, Moreira-Turcq P, Cochonneau G, Melack JM, Boaventura G, Maurice-Bourgoin L, León JG, Roux E, Kosuth P, Guyot JL, Seyler P (2008) Floodplain hydrology in an Amazon floodplain lake (Lago Grande de Curuaí). J Hydrol 349:18–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Bracken LJ, Croke J (2007) The concept of hydrological connectivity and its contribution to understanding runoff-dominated geomorphic systems. Hydrol Process 21:1749–1763

    Google Scholar 

  • Bracken LJ, Wainwright J, Ali GA, Tetzlaff D, Smith MW, Reaney SM, Roy AG (2013) Concepts of hydrological connectivity: research approaches, pathways and future agendas. Earth Sci Rev 119:17–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Brierley C, Fryirs K, Jain V (2006) Landscape connectivity: the geographic basic of geomorphic applications. Area 38:165–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Casanova SMC, Panarelli EA, Henry R (2009) Rotifer abundance, biomass, and secondary production after the recovery of hydrologic connectivity between a river and two marginal lakes (São Paulo, Brazil). Limnologica 39:292–301

    Google Scholar 

  • de Resende AF, Schöngart J, Streher AS, Ferreira-Ferreira F, Piedade MTF, Silva TS (2019) Massive tree mortality from flood pulse disturbances in Amazonian floodplain forests: the collateral effects of hydropower production. Sci Total Environ 659:587–598

    Google Scholar 

  • Deng X, Xu Y, Han L, Song S, Xu G, Xiang J (2018) Spatial–temporal changes in the longitudinal functional connectivity of river systems in the Taihu Plain. China J Hydrol 566:846–859

    Google Scholar 

  • Ding Y, Wang S, Zhang W, Feng M, Yu R (2019) A rule of hydrological regulating on nutritional status of Poyang Lake, since the operation of the three gorges dam. Ecol Indic 104:535–542

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Entwistle NS, Heritage GL, Schofield LA, Williamson RJ (2019) Recent changes to floodplain character and functionality in England. CATENA 174:490–498

    Google Scholar 

  • Fazi S, Butturini A, Tassi F, Amalfitano S, Venturi S, Vazquez E, Clokie M, Wanjala SW, Pacini N, Harper DM (2018) Biogeochemistry and biodiversity in a network of sline–alkaline lakes: implications of ecohydrological connectivity in the Kentan Rift Valley. Ecohydrol Hydrobiol 18:96–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Funk A, Martínez-López J, Borgwardt F, Trauner D, Bagstad KJ, Balbi S, Magrach A, Villa F, Hein T (2019) Identification of conservation and restoration priority areas in the Danube River based on the multi-functionality of river-floodplain systems. Sci Total Environ 654:763–777

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Granados V, Gutiérrez-Cánovas C, Arias-Real R, Obrador B, Harjung A, Butturini A (2020) The interruption of longitudinal hydrological connectivity causes delayed responses in dissolved organic matter. Sci Total Environ 713:136619

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han X, Feng L, Hu C, Chen X (2018) Wetland changes of China’s largest freshwater lake and their linkage with the three gorges dam. Remote Sens Environ 204:799–811

    Google Scholar 

  • Han Y, Sun Z, Fang H, Bai S, Huang L, He G (2020) Habitat succession of the Yangtze finless propoise in Poyang Lake under the changing hydrodynamic and feeding environment. Ecol Modell 424:109035

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu Q, Feng S, Guo H, Chen GY, Jiang T (2007) Interactions of the Yangtze river flow and hydrologic processes of the Poyang Lake. China J Hydrol 347:90–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang Z, Lu L, Jiao G, Jiang J, Ye Q (2018) Analysis of the correlations between environmental factors and rare cranes in the Poyang Lake region of China. J Gt Lakes Res 44:140–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Journel AG, Kyriakidis PC, Mao S (2000) Correcting the smoothing effect of estimators: a spectral postprocessor. Math Geol 32:787–813

    Google Scholar 

  • Junk WJ, Bayley PB, Sparks RE (1989) The flood pulse concept in river floodplain systems. Can Spec Publ Fish Aquat Sci 106:110–127

    Google Scholar 

  • Karim F, Kinsey-Henderson A, Wallace J, Arthington AH, Pearson RG (2012) Modelling wetland connectivity during overbank flooding in a tropical floodplain in north Queensland. Aust Hydrol Process 26:2710–2723

    Google Scholar 

  • Karpack MN, Morrison RR, McManamany RA (2020) Quantitative assessment of floodplain functionality using an index of integrity. Ecol Indic 111:106051

    Google Scholar 

  • Khaki M, Awange J (2019) Improved remotely sensed satellite products for studying Lake Victoria’s water storage changes. Sci Total Environ 652:915–926

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kiss T, Nagy J, Fehérváry I, Vaszkó C (2019) (Mis) management of floodplain vegetation: the effect of invasive species on vegetation roughness and flood levels. Sci Total Environ 686:931–945

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kupfer JA, Meitzen KM, Gao P (2015) Flooding and surface connectivity of Taxodium-Nyssa stands in a southern floodplain forest ecosystem. River Res Appl 31:1299–1310

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Yao J, Werner AD, Li XH (2014) Hydrodynamic and hydrological modeling of Poyang Lake-catchment system in China. J Hydrol Eng 19:607–616

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Yao J (2015) Investigation of residence and travel times in a large floodplain lake with complex lake–river interactions: Poyang Lake (China). Water 7:1991–2012

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Yao J, Zhang L (2016) Investigation into mixing in the shallow floodplain Poyang Lake (China) using hydrological, thermal and isotopic evidence. Water Sci Technol 74:2582–2598

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Werner AD, Yao J, Ye X (2017) The influence of river-to-lake backflow on the hydrodynamics of a large floodplain lake system (Poyang Lake, China). Hydrol Process 31:117–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Ye R, Yao J, Tan Z (2018) 3D hydrodynamic investigation of thermal regime in a large river–lake-floodplain system (Poyang Lake, China). J Hydrol 567:86–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Cai Y, Tan Z, Wu H, Liu X, Yao J (2019) Hydrodynamic investigation of surface hydrological connectivity and its effects on the water quality of seasonal lakes: insights from a complex floodplain setting (Poyang Lake, China). Sci Total Environ 660:245–259

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Liu X, Tan Z, Yao J (2019) The role of a seasonal lake groups in the complex Poyang Lake-floodplain system (China): insights into hydrological behaviors. J Hydrol 578:124055

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Lu J, Yao J, Tan Z (2019) Assessing surface water–groundwater interactions in a complex river-floodplain wetland-isolated lake system. River Res Appl 35:25–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Liu X, Yao J (2020) Water balance and flashiness for a large floodplain system: a case study of Poyang Lake. China Sci Total Environ 710:135499

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Zhang Q, Tan Z, Yao J (2020) On the hydrodynamic bahavior of floodplain vegetation in a flood-pulse-influenced river–lake system (Poyang Lake, China). J Hydrol 585:124852

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu D, Wang X, Li C, Cai Y, Liu Q (2019) Eco-environmental effects of hydrological connectivity on lakes: a review. Resour Environ Yangtze Basin 28:1702–1715 ((in Chinese))

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Zhang Q, Li Y, Tan Z, Werner AD (2020) Satellite image-based investigation of the seasonal variations in the hydrological connectivity of a large floodplain (Poyang Lake, China). J Hydrol 585:124810

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin DL, Diamond JS, Quintero C, Heffernan J, Cohen MJ (2019) Wetland connectivity thresholds and flow dynamics from stage measurements. Water Resour Res 55:6018–6032

    Google Scholar 

  • Mei X, Dai Z, Fagherazzi S, Chen J (2016) Dramatic variations in emergent wetland area in China’s largest freshwater lake Poyang Lake. Adv Water Resour 96:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch WJ, Gosselink JG (2007) Wetlands. Wiley, Hoboken

    Google Scholar 

  • Morin J, Champoux O, Mingelbier M, Bechara JA, Secretan Y, Jean M, Frenette J (2003) Emergence of new explanatory variables for 2D habitat modelling in large rivers: the St Lawrence experience. Can Water Resour J 28:249–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardo-Iguzquiza E, Dowd PA (2003) CONNEC3D: a computer program for connectivity analysis of 3D random set models. Comput Geosci 29:775–785

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips RW, Spence C, Pomeroy JW (2011) Connectivity and runoff dynamics in heterogeneous basins. Hydrol Process 25:3061–3075

    Google Scholar 

  • Qian K, Liu X, Chen Y (2016) Effects of water level fluctuation on phytoplankton succession in Poyang Lake, China-a five year study. Ecohydrol Hydrobiol 16:175–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Quirino BA, Carniatto N, Guglielmetti R, Fugi R (2017) Changes in diet and niche breadth of a small fish species in response to the flood pulse in a Neotropical floodplain lake. Limnologica 62:126–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Reckendorfer W, Baranyi C, Funk A, Schiemer F (2006) Floodplain restoration by reinforcing hydrological connectivity: expected effects on aquatic mollusc communities. J Appl Ecol 43:474–484

    Google Scholar 

  • Saco PM, Rodríguez JF, Heras MM, Keesstra S, Azadi S, Sandi S, Baartman J, Rodrigo-Comino J, Rossi MJ (2020) Using hydrological connectivity to detect transitions and degradation thresholds: applications to dryland systems. CATENA 186:104354

    Google Scholar 

  • Scown M, Thoms MC, De Jager NR (2016) Measuring spatial patterns in floodplains: a step towards understanding the complexity of floodplain ecosystems: chapter 6. River Science: research and management for the twenty-first century. Wiley, pp 103–131

  • Shao B (2017) Temporal and spatial variations of fish diversity in sub-lakes littoral zone of Jiangxi Poyang Lake National Reserve. PhD thesis, Nanchang Unicersity (in Chinese)

  • Shao X, Fang Y, Cui B (2020) A model to evaluate spatiotemporal variations of hydrological connectivity on a basin-scale complex river network with intensive human activity. Sci Total Environ 723:138051

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh M, Sinha R (2019) Evaluating dynamic hydrological connectivity of a floodplain wetland in North Bihar, India using geostatistical methods. Sci Total Environ 651:2473–2488

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Światek D, Szporak S, Chormański J, Okruszko T (2008) Hydrodynamic model of the lower Biebrza river flow—a tool for assessing the hydrologic vulnerability of a floodplain to managemnt practies. Ecohydrol Hydrobiol 8:331–337

    Google Scholar 

  • Tan Z, Wang X, Chen B, Liu X, Zhang Q (2019) Surface water connectivity of seasonal isolated lakes in a dynamic lake-floodplain system. J Hydrol 579:124154

    Google Scholar 

  • Tockner K, Stanford JA (2002) Riverine flood plains: present stste and future tredns. Environ Conserv 29:308–330

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigg MA, Michaelides K, Neal JC, Bates PD (2013) Surface water connectivity dynamics of a large scale extreme flood. J Hydrol 505:138–149

    Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2015) Connectivity of streams and wetlands to downstream waters: a review and synthesis of the scientific evidence. EPA/600/R-14/475F

  • van der Most M, Hudson PF (2018) The influence of floodplain geomorphology and hydrologic connectivity on alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) habitat along the embanked floodplain of the lower Mississippi river. Geomorphology 302:62–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Lai G, Li L (2015) Predicting the hydrological impacts of the Poyang Lake project using an EFDC model. J Hydrol Eng 20:05015009

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang C, Jiang Z, Zhou L, Dai B, Song Z (2019) A functional group approach reveals important fish recruitments driven by flood pulse in floodplain ecosystem. Ecol Indic 99:130–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu Z, Cai Y, Zhang L, Chen Y (2018) Spatial and temporal heterogeneities in water quality and their potential drivers in Lake Poyang (China) from 2009 to 2015. Limnologica 69:115–124

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia S, Liu Y, Wang Y, Chen B, Jia Y, Liu G, Yu X, Wen L (2016) Wintering waterbirds in a large river floodplain: Hydrological connectivity is the key for reconciling development and conservation. Sci Total Environ 573:645–660

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang J, Chu X (2013) Quantification of the spatio-temporal variations in hydrologic connectivity of samll-scale topographic surfaces under various rainfall conditions. J Hydrol 505:65–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang G, Zhang Q, Wan R, Lai X, Jiang X, Li L, Dai H, Lei G, Chen J, Lu Y (2016) Lake hydrology, water quality and ecology impacts of altered river–lake interactions: advances in research on the middle Yangtze river. Hydrol Res 47:1–7

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yao J, Zhang Q, Ye X, Zhang D, Bai P (2018) Quantifying the impact of bathymetric changes on the hydrological regimes in a large floodplain lake: Poyang Lake. J Hydrol 561:711–723

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeo I, Lee S, Lang MW, Yetemen O, McCarty GW, Sadeghi AM, Evenson G (2019) Mapping landscape-level hydrological connectivity of headwater wetlands to downstream waters: a catchment modeling approach-part 2. Sci Total Environ 653:1557–1570

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu F, Harbor JM (2019) CSTAT+: A GPU-accelerated spatial pattern analysis algorithm for high-resolution 2D/3D hydrologic connectivity using array vectorization and convolution neural network operators. Environ Modell Softw 120:104496

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Q, Werner AD (2015) Hysteretic relationships in inundation dynamics for a large lake–floodplain system. J Hydrol 527:160–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Q, Li L, Wang YG, Werner AD, Xin P, Jiang T, Barry DA (2012) Has the three-gorges dam made the Poyang Lake wetlands wetter and drier? Geophys Res Lett 39:L20402

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Q, Ye XC, Werner AD, Li YL, Yao J, Li XH, Xu CY (2014) An investigation of enhanced recessions in Poyang Lake: comparison of Yangtze river and local catchment impacts. J Hydrol 517:425–434

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Lai X, Zhang L, Song K, Yao X, Gu L, Pang C (2020) The influence of aquatic vegetation on flow structure and sediment deposition: a field study in Dongting Lake. China J Hydrol 584:124644

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFC0409002), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA23040202), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42071036, 41771037), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the CAS (Y9CJH01001), the Science Foundation of Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS2018GH06).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yunliang Li, Qi Zhang, Xinggen Liu, Zhiqiang Tan & Jing Yao

Authors
  1. Yunliang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qi Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xinggen Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zhiqiang Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jing Yao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

YL: Methodology, Conceptualization, Writing-original draft, Writing-review & editing. QZ: Conceptualization, Methodology. XL: Data curation. ZT: Conceptualization. JY: Conceptualization. YL and ZT proposed and designed the modeling framework for connectivity assessment.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yunliang Li or Qi Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, Y., Zhang, Q., Liu, X. et al. New insights on the surface hydrological connectivity of water depth thresholds in a flood-pulse-influenced floodplain system (Poyang Lake, China). Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 35, 861–879 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-020-01897-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-020-01897-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation