The cumulative effects of dam project on river ecosystem based on multi-scale ecological network analysis

The importance of addressing cumulative environmental impact of large developmentprojects on rivers has been increasingly concerned. Consideration to potential impact pathways may bedifficult, however, without appropriate analytical methods. By introducing ecological network model,this paper is focused on the quantification of the cause-effect relationships inherent the cumulativeeffects of dam construction in holistic perspective. With Lancang river of Longitudinal Range-GorgeRegion (LRGR) as example, the risk-based interaction instead of the conventional energy or materialflow of ecological network model was created to conceptualize the cumulative effects network model.Grounding on which the network structural and functional analysis were adjusted for the assessment ofpotential eco-environmental impact within the ecosystem, thus demonstrate how the risk-basedecological network analysis can be used to characterize the holistic cumulative effects of dams on thetemporal and spatial scale.