Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China
Environmental illiteracy threatens the functioning mechanisms of ecological networks worldwide, yet many people remain dubious about their existence. The knowledge deficit model suggests that giving the public (local people and government personnel) additional information would alleviate distrust. T...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22010445 |
| _version_ | 1811190537003204608 |
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| author | Muhammad Arif Li Changxiao |
| author_facet | Muhammad Arif Li Changxiao |
| author_sort | Muhammad Arif |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Environmental illiteracy threatens the functioning mechanisms of ecological networks worldwide, yet many people remain dubious about their existence. The knowledge deficit model suggests that giving the public (local people and government personnel) additional information would alleviate distrust. There is limited evidence indicating that environmental literacy metrics (ELMs) influence ecological network indicators (ENIs) such as plant cover, habitat, exotics, regeneration, erosion, and stressors throughout the drawdown zone (upstream, midstream, and downstream) within dams and reservoirs, despite widespread implementation to enhance riparian zone conservation. This study tackles this knowledge gap by using multivariate statistical methods to assess ENIs on the covered area of 58,000 km2 in 327 transects through a field-based approach inside China's Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGRA) in 2019. The bar graph results showed the largest lack of information about ELMs (e.g., knowledge, attitude, and behavior) from the general populace, and it had the biggest effect on the plant cover in the midstream and the least impact on regeneration in the upstream. The ELMs of local people influenced the ENIs most within the downstream, with coefficients of Pearson correlation in the range of −0.67 < r < 0.98. However, the ELMs (knowledge and behavior) of government personnel showed the greatest correlations with ENIs (−0.41 < r < 0.74) in the midstream, while attitude towards downstream. In comparison among ENIs, vegetation cover, grass exotics, gullying, longitudinal continuity, and farming systems were all-important ENIs within the TGRA. ENIs and ELMs varied substantially for each section of the drawdown zone, according to hierarchical approaches. These results educate decision-makers about the spatial variations in ENIs of riparian regions in dams and reservoirs, which need location-based initiatives to raise inclusive impact awareness among the Chinese public. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:51:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5ce651d7ec9f42d2843da5ba1e5d6f70 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:51:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-5ce651d7ec9f42d2843da5ba1e5d6f702022-12-22T04:17:23ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2022-12-01145109571Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, ChinaMuhammad Arif0Li Changxiao1Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Eco-Environments in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Biological Science Research Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Eco-Environments in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.Environmental illiteracy threatens the functioning mechanisms of ecological networks worldwide, yet many people remain dubious about their existence. The knowledge deficit model suggests that giving the public (local people and government personnel) additional information would alleviate distrust. There is limited evidence indicating that environmental literacy metrics (ELMs) influence ecological network indicators (ENIs) such as plant cover, habitat, exotics, regeneration, erosion, and stressors throughout the drawdown zone (upstream, midstream, and downstream) within dams and reservoirs, despite widespread implementation to enhance riparian zone conservation. This study tackles this knowledge gap by using multivariate statistical methods to assess ENIs on the covered area of 58,000 km2 in 327 transects through a field-based approach inside China's Three Gorges Reservoir area (TGRA) in 2019. The bar graph results showed the largest lack of information about ELMs (e.g., knowledge, attitude, and behavior) from the general populace, and it had the biggest effect on the plant cover in the midstream and the least impact on regeneration in the upstream. The ELMs of local people influenced the ENIs most within the downstream, with coefficients of Pearson correlation in the range of −0.67 < r < 0.98. However, the ELMs (knowledge and behavior) of government personnel showed the greatest correlations with ENIs (−0.41 < r < 0.74) in the midstream, while attitude towards downstream. In comparison among ENIs, vegetation cover, grass exotics, gullying, longitudinal continuity, and farming systems were all-important ENIs within the TGRA. ENIs and ELMs varied substantially for each section of the drawdown zone, according to hierarchical approaches. These results educate decision-makers about the spatial variations in ENIs of riparian regions in dams and reservoirs, which need location-based initiatives to raise inclusive impact awareness among the Chinese public.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22010445Riparian health indicatorsThe Yangtze RiverRapid appraisalPressure indicatorsEcological indicatorsEcosystem function |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Arif Li Changxiao Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China Ecological Indicators Riparian health indicators The Yangtze River Rapid appraisal Pressure indicators Ecological indicators Ecosystem function |
| title | Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China |
| title_full | Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China |
| title_short | Impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China |
| title_sort | impacts of environmental literacy on ecological networks in the three gorges reservoir china |
| topic | Riparian health indicators The Yangtze River Rapid appraisal Pressure indicators Ecological indicators Ecosystem function |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22010445 |
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