Hydrologic regime plays a major role in structuring biotic diversity within river ecosystems by controlling key habitat conditions within the river channel and floodplain. Daily flow records from seven hydrological stations and the range of variability approach were utilized to investigate the variability and spatial pattern of the hydrologic alterations induced by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam (TGD) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Results show that the impoundment of the TGD disturbed the hydrologic regime downstream and directly affected the streamflow variations. The rate of changes and the annual extreme conditions were more affected by the TGD, particularly the low-flow relevant parameters. The alterations in the hydrologic regime were mainly caused by the TGD storing water during early autumn and releasing water during winter and spring. The effects on spatial patterns decreased as the distance from the dam increased, which was mainly attributed to the inflows from large tributaries along the Yangtze River as well as the interaction with the two largest natural lakes (i.e., Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake). These hydrologic alterations not only break the natural balance of eco-flow regimes but also result in undesirable ecological effects, particularly in terms of habitat availability for the fish community.

Rapid urbanization greatly alters land surface vegetation cover and heat distribution, leading to the development of the urban heat island (UHI) effect and seriously affecting the healthy development of cities and the comfort of living. As an indicator of urban health and livability, monitoring the distribution of land surface temperature (LST) and discovering its main impacting factors are receiving increasing attention in the effort to develop cities more sustainably. In this study, we analyzed the spatial distribution patterns of LST of the city of Wuhan, China, from 2013 to 2019. We detected hot and cold poles in four seasons through clustering and outlier analysis (based on Anselin local Moran’s I) of LST. Furthermore, we introduced the geographical detector model to quantify the impact of six physical and socio-economic factors, including the digital elevation model (DEM), index-based built-up index (IBI), modified normalized difference water index (MNDWI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), population, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on the LST distribution of Wuhan. Finally, to identify the influence of land cover on temperature, the LST of croplands, woodlands, grasslands, and built-up areas was analyzed. The results showed that low temperatures are mainly distributed over water and woodland areas, followed by grasslands; high temperatures are mainly concentrated over built-up areas. The maximum temperature difference between land covers occurs in spring and summer, while this difference can be ignored in winter. MNDWI, IBI, and NDVI are the key driving factors of the thermal values change in Wuhan, especially of their interaction. We found that the temperature of water area and urban green space (woodlands and grasslands) tends to be 5.4 °C and 2.6 °C lower than that of built-up areas. Our research results can contribute to the urban planning and urban greening of Wuhan and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the city.

In China, the Lower Jingjiang Reach (LJR) of the Yangtze River could be one of the most complicated areas in terms of channel migration. The river had undergone many channel changes in the reach since the 18th century. Intensive human activities in recent decades, such as the construction of upstream dams and revetments, had directly affected the channel migration characteristics. The revetment would significantly diminish migration, whereas the reduced sediment caused by dams would increase bank erosion and bank failure risks. Satellite imageries of Landsat Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) were employed to quantify the planform migration of the reach from 1983 to 2013 and to investigate the possible effect of human activities on the LJR channel evolution. Apart from the commonly used planform morphometric parameters, the migration direction was introduced to predict the future migration trends. Results showed that the LJR was gradually changing to a straighter channel, with sinuosity reducing from 2.09 to 1.9 and river length decreasing from 125.32 km to 113.31 km in the past 30 years. Planform morphometric parameters, such as migration rate of the channel centerline and erosion and deposition areas and rates, also decreased drastically in the past 30 years. The migration rate of the channel centerline decreased from 31.05 m·year⁻¹ in 1983–1988 to 11.62 m·year⁻¹ in 2009–2013. The lateral erosion and deposition areas decreased from 21.32 and 25.73 km² in 1983–1988 to 4.83 and 5.83 km² in 2009–2013. All of these findings indicate that the LJR tended to be in a steady state from 1983 to 2013 and was totally controlled by the bank revetments. However, the undercutting was strengthened because of the restrictive effect of revetments on lateral migration in the LJR. Moreover, the channel migrated to the left bank with a visible tendency as the total migration area to the left bank was approximately two times that of the right bank during the period. Consequently, the left bank of the LJR should be the focus of more attention in future migrations, and bank revetments of the left bank should be kept reinforced and adjusted with the change of water and sediment conditions.

The two most common land cover types in urban areas, artificial surface (AS) and urban blue-green space (UBGS), interact with land surface temperature (LST) and exhibit competitive effects, namely, heating and cooling effects. Understanding the variation of these effects along the AS ratio gradient is highly important for the healthy development of cities. In this study, we aimed to find the critical point of the joint competitive effects of UBGS and AS on LST, and to explore the variability in different climate zones and cities at different development levels. An urban land cover map and LST distribution map were produced using Sentinel-2 images and Landsat-8 LST data, respectively, covering 28 major cities in China. On this basis, the characteristics of water, vegetation, and LST in these cities were analyzed. Moreover, the UBGS (water or vegetation)–AS–LST relationship of each city was quantitatively explored. The results showed that UBGS and AS have a competitive relationship and jointly affect LST; this competition has a critical point (threshold). When the proportion of UBGS exceeds this value, UBGS replaces AS as the dominant variable for LST, bringing about a cooling effect. In contrast, when AS dominates LST, it causes a warming effect. The critical points between AS and water and between AS and vegetation in 28 major cities in China were 80% and 70%, respectively. The critical point showed an obvious zonal difference. Compared with cities in subtropical and temperate climate regions, the critical point of arid cities is higher, and UBGS exhibited better performance at alleviating the urban thermal environment. The critical point of cities with higher development levels is lower than that of cities with lower development levels. Even areas with relatively low AS coverage are prone to high temperatures, and more attention should be paid to improving the coverage of UBGS. Our research results provide a reference for the more reasonable handling of the relationship between urban construction, landscape layout, and temperature control.