Optimizing Ecosystem Services In China

摘要

The pool behind the controversial Three Gorges Dam (7, 2) on the Changjiang (Yangtze) River in Hubei Province, China, will top off at 175 m above sea level next winter (2008 to 2009) ("Three Gorges Dam: Into the unknown," R. Stone, News Focus, 1 August, p. 628). With this flood level, former cities, homes, and farm fields of about 1.5 million people will be seasonally under water, and a set of new unique ecosystems will develop. The extent of the impact of this unprecedented amount of wetland underwater, the potential ecological systems that will result on the borders of this reservoir, and possible approaches to minimize the impacts or enhance ecological services are mostly unknown.