Estimation of environmental flow requirements for the river ecosystem in the Haihe River Basin, China

The temporal and spatial environmental flow requirements (EFRs) for the river ecosystem of the Haihe River Basin were analyzed based mainly on the eco-functional regionalization of available water resources. The annual EFRs for the river ecosystem of the Haihe River Basin were 47.71 × 10⁸ m³, which accounted for 18% of the average annual flow (263.9 × 10⁸ m³). The EFRs for river reaches, wetlands, and estuaries were 22.67, 15.32 and 9.72 × 10⁸ m³, respectively. Moreover, the EFRs for the river ecosystem during the wet (June to October), normal (April, May, November), and dry (December to March) periods were 29.99, 9.51 and 8.21 × 10⁸ m³, respectively. Thus, toward a more integrated water resource allocation in the Haihe River Basin, the primary effort should focus on meeting the EFRs for river systems located in protected areas during the dry period.