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River health assessment of the Yellow River source region, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, based on tolerance values of macroinvertebrates

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Abstract

For decades, the river health of the Yellow River source region (YRSR) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau has been a focal issue owing to its unique geographic location and ecological functions. This study investigated the ecological status of the headwater streams, the main stem, and the tributaries of the Yellow River in the YRSR using the tolerance values of macroinvertebrates and those related to biotic indices. The macroinvertebrate assemblages of the headwater streams were characterized by lower biodiversity than the tributaries downstream, based on comparisons of taxonomical composition, functional feeding group composition, and the pollution-tolerant capacity of taxa. The headwater streams had a lower ratio (16%) of pollution-sensitive macroinvertebrate taxa than that of the tributaries downstream (30%). The biotic indices (family- and genus-level biotic indices) indicated that the ecological health of the headwater streams was comparably poorer than that of the downstream tributaries. The combined effect of vulnerable natural conditions and increasing human disturbance is likely the main cause of eco-environmental degradation in the Yellow River headwater streams.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the editor Dr. Philippe Garrigues and the two anonymous reviewers for their review comments that significantly strengthened the paper.

Funding

The study was financially supported by the National Science Fund China (91547204, 51779120, 51622901), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0402407, 2016YFC0402406), Tsinghua University Project (2015THZ02-1), State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering Project (2016-KY-04), and the Yellow River Institute of Hydraulic Research (HKY-JBYW-2016-03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydroscience and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Wei Liu, Mengzhen Xu, Xiongdong Zhou & Fakai Lei

  2. College of Agricultural Equipment Engineering, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, China

    Na Zhao

  3. State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, 710048, China

    Baozhu Pan

  4. Key Laboratory of Yellow River Sediment, MWR, Institute of Hydraulic Research, YRCC, Zhengzhou, 450003, China

    Shimin Tian

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  1. Wei Liu
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Correspondence to Mengzhen Xu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Liu, W., Xu, M., Zhao, N. et al. River health assessment of the Yellow River source region, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, based on tolerance values of macroinvertebrates. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 10251–10262 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-04110-0

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