The 6th International Symposium on Larger Asian River:
Biodiversity and Ecological Security at River Basin Scale
From May 9th to 12th, the 6th International Symposium on Larger Asian Rivers, themed "Sustainability of Water Environment and Ecology - Biodiversity and Ecological Security," was held in Xi'an. Over 150 scientists from more than 10 countries, including the United States, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, and China, submitted papers and participated in the conference. The participants exchanged and discussed the latest research findings and insights on the ecosystems of Asian rivers, water resources and environment, sediment transport processes, biodiversity conservation, and ecological security.
Professor Xi Xi Lu from the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore, co-chair of the symposium and associate editor of the International Journal of Sediment Research, emphasized that rivers are crucial links in the material and energy exchange between land and sea. The dynamic changes in river systems reflect the impacts of climate change and human activities. Studying the evolution of river morphology, such as the composition of riverbed sediments and their transport processes, provides excellent conditions for examining the dynamic functional relationships between environmental factors like climate and rocks. Asia has hundreds of rivers, 32 of which are over 1,600 km long, with most originating from the Himalayas. Given Asia's large population and rapid economic development in recent years, the intensification of human activities makes it particularly urgent and important to study the dynamic changes of these rivers and their roles in Asia's ecological security.
Researcher Zhou Jie, co-chair of the symposium and former president of the Shaanxi Academy of Sciences, noted that natural river ecosystems encompass the interactions among almost all plant, animal, and microbial ecosystems, as well as the physical and chemical interactions among non-living components. They are a vital part of Earth's ecosystems. Studying the sustainable development of river health requires a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the dynamic changes of Asian rivers from the perspectives of natural environmental evolution and human activities. Using his research project "Biodiversity Changes and Environmental Tracing in the Important Water Source Conservation Area of the Qinling Mountains" as an example, he explained that the Qinling Mountains, as the main water source conservation area for Shaanxi Province and a key national water security area, play a significant role in ensuring the water supply for Xi'an and delivering clean water to Beijing. The biodiversity resources of the Qinling Mountains are essential for maintaining ecological functions and conserving water sources. Therefore, the research on combining water quality physicochemical monitoring with long-term ecological monitoring in the Qinling water conservation area is a supportive project for ensuring water source safety in the region.
The project focuses on the Heihe River Basin and Danjiang River Basin as typical study areas to explore the relationship between biodiversity changes and watershed water environments. It aims to propose biological tracing techniques for the environmental quality of water conservation areas, establish biodiversity indicator systems and long-term monitoring methods for evaluating water resource quality, and predict and provide early warnings for the trends in ecological functions and water environment changes in critical water source areas in the Qinling Mountains. This will provide scientific support and decision-making basis for ensuring the safety and health of water resources in the Qinling Mountains, ultimately forming a comprehensive aquatic ecological monitoring technology system and completing an aquatic ecological management model, thereby providing a demonstration for water security in northern China.
Since 2006, the International Symposium on Larger Asian Rivers has successfully held five sessions, covering a wide range of research fields such as river geomorphology, climate change, water environment, and watershed ecology.
This symposium was hosted by the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Water Resources, and the State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau. It received support from organizations such as the International Water Conservation Association, the Chinese Society of Soil Science, and journals like Quaternary International and Sustainability of Water Quality and Ecology.
Links to previous sysmposium coverage:
https://www.cas.cn/hy/xshd/201405/t20140513_4119591.shtml
