Eco-Morphological Problems in the Yangtze Estuary and the Western Scheldt

This paper compares the Yangtze Estuary in China and the Western Scheldt Estuary in The Netherlands by their morphodynamic and ecological systems, their engineering works and estuarine management issues, and the major challenges in studying them. Physically speaking, the two estuaries are very different. The Yangtze Estuary is much larger and much more influenced by the upstream river than the Western Scheldt. Yet, they also have a number of morphological and ecological features in common. Both estuaries have a multi-channel system and extensive intertidal flats and wetlands with ecologically valuable flora and fauna. These eco-morphological systems are influenced by similar societal developments and human activities. Examples of the latter are engineering works and dredging activities for improving and maintaining the navigation channels, and shoreline management activities including land reclamations and setbacks. The fundamental eco-morphological phenomena that remain to be analysed and understood are the same for the two estuaries and will be discussed in this paper.

[1]  Peter M. J. Herman,et al.  Spatial patterns, rates and mechanisms of saltmarsh cycles (Westerschelde, the Netherlands) , 2008 .

[2]  C. Heip,et al.  Spatial and temporal patterns of water quality along the estuarine salinity gradient of the Scheldt estuary (Belgium and The Netherlands): results of an integrated monitoring approach , 2005, Hydrobiologia.

[3]  Chen Ji-yu,et al.  THE MODEL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHANG JIANG ESTUARY DURING THE LAST 2000 YEARS , 1982 .

[4]  J. Ellis,et al.  Muddy waters: elevating sediment input to coastal and estuarine habitats , 2004 .

[5]  J. Kromkamp,et al.  Changes in phytoplankton biomass and primary production between 1991 and 2001 in the Westerschelde estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands) , 2005, Hydrobiologia.

[6]  P. Herman,et al.  Ecological evaluation of an experimental beneficial use scheme for dredged sediment disposal in shallow tidal waters. , 2011, Marine pollution bulletin.

[7]  Zhijun Ma,et al.  Foraging strategies involved in habitat use of shorebirds at the intertidal area of Chongming Dongtan, China , 2007, Ecological Research.

[8]  R. Nicholls,et al.  Presence of Connecting Channels in the Western Scheldt Estuary , 2009 .

[9]  Paul J. Harrison,et al.  Comparison of hypoxia among four river-dominated ocean margins: The Changjiang (Yangtze), Mississippi, Pearl, and Rhone rivers , 2008 .

[10]  Stijn Temmerman,et al.  Impact of vegetation on flow routing and sedimentation patterns: Three-dimensional modeling for a tidal marsh , 2005 .

[11]  J. Milliman,et al.  50,000 dams later: Erosion of the Yangtze River and its delta , 2011 .

[12]  M. Jeuken.  On the morphologic behaviour of tidal channels in the Westerschelde Estuary , 2000 .

[13]  Jing Zhang,et al.  Impact of dams on Yangtze River sediment supply to the sea and delta intertidal wetland response , 2005 .

[14]  Z. Wang,et al.  Impact of dredging and dumping on the stability of ebb-flood channel systems , 2010 .

[15]  M. Stive,et al.  Ebb and Flood Channel Systems in the Netherlands Tidal Waters1 , 2005 .

[16]  Jing Zhang,et al.  Nutrient gradients from the eutrophic Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary to the oligotrophic Kuroshio waters and re-evaluation of budgets for the East China Sea Shelf , 2007 .

[17]  Peter M. J. Herman,et al.  Spatial flow and sedimentation patterns within patches of epibenthic structures: Combining field, flume and modelling experiments , 2007 .

[18]  Patrick Meire,et al.  The Scheldt estuary: a description of a changing ecosystem , 2005, Hydrobiologia.

[19]  Weiguo Zhang,et al.  Spatial and temporal variations in sediment grain size in tidal wetlands, Yangtze Delta: On the role of physical and biotic controls , 2008 .

[20]  C.J.L. Jeuken,et al.  Hydraulic processes affecting the morphology and evolution of the Westerschelde estuary , 1996 .

[21]  P. Meire,et al.  Waterbird communities along the estuarine salinity gradient of the Schelde estuary, NW-Europe , 2000, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[22]  P. Herman,et al.  Benthic community-mediated sediment dynamics , 2008 .

[23]  S. Temmerman,et al.  Vegetation causes channel erosion in a tidal landscape , 2007 .

[24]  Daphne van der Wal,et al.  Spatial Synchrony in Intertidal Benthic Algal Biomass in Temperate Coastal and Estuarine Ecosystems , 2010, Ecosystems.

[25]  C. Heip,et al.  Large-scale spatial patterns in estuaries: estuarine macrobenthic communities in the Schelde estuary, NW Europe , 2003 .

[26]  A. Crosato,et al.  Developing Macroscale Indicators for Estuarine Morphology: The Case of the Scheldt Estuary , 2007 .

[27]  John S. Gray,et al.  ANIMAL-SEDIMENT RELATIONSHIPS. , 1974 .

[28]  Shi-lun Yang,et al.  A 2D/3D hydrodynamic and sediment transport model for the Yangtze Estuary, China , 2009 .

[29]  Zhijun Ma,et al.  Waterbird Population Changes in the Wetlands at Chongming Dongtan in the Yangtze River Estuary, China , 2009, Environmental management.

[30]  David P. Callaghan,et al.  Hydrodynamic forcing on salt-marsh development: Distinguishing the relative importance of waves and tidal flows , 2010 .

[31]  C. Heip,et al.  Benthic community structure and sediment processes on an intertidal flat: results from the ECOFLAT project , 2001 .

[32]  Li-Quan Zhang,et al.  A study on seed characteristics and seed bank of Spartina alterniflora at saltmarshes in the Yangtze Estuary, China , 2009 .

[33]  Patrick Meire,et al.  Long‐term change in dissolved inorganic nutrients in the heterotrophic Scheldt estuary (Belgium, The Netherlands) , 2006 .

[34]  Johan C. Winterwerp,et al.  A new morphological schematization of the Western Scheldt estuary, The Netherlands , 2001 .

[35]  Bo Li,et al.  Spartina alterniflora invasions in the Yangtze River estuary, China: An overview of current status and ecosystem effects , 2009 .