The spring runoff climatic decrease and hydraulic engineering regulation influence on the fish reproduction conditions in the Azov-Don fishery area (the floodplain area near the village of Razdorskaya as a study case)

Relevance. The Lower Don is an important water body in Russia in terms of fisheries, but the fisheries of this region are in a depressed state. The main reason is considered to be a violation of fish reproduction due to reduced spring runoff, which results in insufficient (and in many recent years, even no) flooding of floodplain spawning grounds and their degradation. Most scientists believe that the main factor in this violation is the Tsimlyansk reservoir. Much less importance is attached to reducing spring runoff due to climatic factors. Methods. This article uses a method that made it possible for the first time to assess separately the impact of the Tsimlyansk reservoir and the climatic decrease in spring runoff on fish spawning. The method is based on the calculation of the areas of floodplain spawning grounds for a hypothetical variant when the Tsimlyansk hydroelectric complex is absent. Results. We have demostrated that the influence of the climate is less than the influence of the reservoir, but comparable to it. The areas of floodplain spawning grounds decrease by 2.9 times under the influence of the reservoir, and by 2.1 times under the influence of climate. This article also presents proposals for the restoration of floodplain spawning grounds of the Lower Don.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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