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Conference Paper: Anthropogenic influences on Hong Kong streams

TitleAnthropogenic influences on Hong Kong streams
Authors
Issue Date1996
PublisherSpringer Verlag Dordrecht. The Journal's web site is located at http://springerlink.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=journal&issn=0343-2521
Citation
Geojournal, 1996, v. 40 n. 1-2, p. 53-61 How to Cite?
AbstractThe Hong Kong countryside has experienced centuries of intense human impact, and none of the native climax forest remains. Anthropogenic influences upon Hong Kong freshwaters reflect, on the one hand, pollution and degradation of rivers and wetlands as a consequence of urbanization of rural lowlands. On the other hand, the need to preserve pristine catchments for the supply of water for human consumption has ensured the protection of upland streams which are typically unpolluted. Hong Kong has no natural lakes, limited ground-water reserves, and marked seasonal and inter year rainfall variation. Most upland streams are impounded, and water is transferred from them into reservoirs by underground tunnels. Hong Kong's 17 reservoirs collect insufficient water from local catchments to meet the territory's needs. To satisfy the shortfall, large amounts of water (1.1 billion m3 in 1994) are piped each year from the Dongjiang (a tributary of the Zhujiang or Pearl River) in Guangdong Province (southern China) into reservoirs in Hong Kong where it mixes with water from local streams. The natural seasonality of flow in Hong Kong streams is height ened by aggressive water extraction during the dry season. No consideration is given to maintenance of the minimum in-stream flows necessary to conserve ecosystem integrity below extraction points and, in extreme cases, surface flow ceases during the dry season. Water extraction also causes dry-season increases in pollution load as flows are reduced and the ability of streams to dilute pollution is diminished. The cumulative impact of such modifications is severe, and lowland freshwaters now support a depauperate flora and fauna of adaptable generalists, including a significant proportion of exotic or alien species.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/179575
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 2.0
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.629
References

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorDudgeon, Den_US
dc.date.accessioned2012-12-19T09:59:57Z-
dc.date.available2012-12-19T09:59:57Z-
dc.date.issued1996en_US
dc.identifier.citationGeojournal, 1996, v. 40 n. 1-2, p. 53-61en_US
dc.identifier.issn0343-2521en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/179575-
dc.description.abstractThe Hong Kong countryside has experienced centuries of intense human impact, and none of the native climax forest remains. Anthropogenic influences upon Hong Kong freshwaters reflect, on the one hand, pollution and degradation of rivers and wetlands as a consequence of urbanization of rural lowlands. On the other hand, the need to preserve pristine catchments for the supply of water for human consumption has ensured the protection of upland streams which are typically unpolluted. Hong Kong has no natural lakes, limited ground-water reserves, and marked seasonal and inter year rainfall variation. Most upland streams are impounded, and water is transferred from them into reservoirs by underground tunnels. Hong Kong's 17 reservoirs collect insufficient water from local catchments to meet the territory's needs. To satisfy the shortfall, large amounts of water (1.1 billion m3 in 1994) are piped each year from the Dongjiang (a tributary of the Zhujiang or Pearl River) in Guangdong Province (southern China) into reservoirs in Hong Kong where it mixes with water from local streams. The natural seasonality of flow in Hong Kong streams is height ened by aggressive water extraction during the dry season. No consideration is given to maintenance of the minimum in-stream flows necessary to conserve ecosystem integrity below extraction points and, in extreme cases, surface flow ceases during the dry season. Water extraction also causes dry-season increases in pollution load as flows are reduced and the ability of streams to dilute pollution is diminished. The cumulative impact of such modifications is severe, and lowland freshwaters now support a depauperate flora and fauna of adaptable generalists, including a significant proportion of exotic or alien species.en_US
dc.languageengen_US
dc.publisherSpringer Verlag Dordrecht. The Journal's web site is located at http://springerlink.metapress.com/openurl.asp?genre=journal&issn=0343-2521en_US
dc.relation.ispartofGeoJournalen_US
dc.rightsThe original publication is available at www.springerlink.com-
dc.titleAnthropogenic influences on Hong Kong streamsen_US
dc.typeConference_Paperen_US
dc.identifier.emailDudgeon, D: ddudgeon@hku.hken_US
dc.identifier.authorityDudgeon, D=rp00691en_US
dc.description.naturelink_to_subscribed_fulltexten_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/BF00222531-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-0030456470en_US
dc.identifier.hkuros27022-
dc.relation.referenceshttp://www.scopus.com/mlt/select.url?eid=2-s2.0-0030456470&selection=ref&src=s&origin=recordpageen_US
dc.identifier.volume40en_US
dc.identifier.issue1-2en_US
dc.identifier.spage53en_US
dc.identifier.epage61en_US
dc.publisher.placeNetherlandsen_US
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridDudgeon, D=7006559840en_US
dc.identifier.issnl0343-2521-

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