Effect of Climate Change on Environmental Flow Components and Physical Habitats

The quantity and timing of runoff are critical components for the water supply, water quality, and ecological interaction of river systems (Poff, et al., 1997). Five components of the flow regime (magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, and rate of change) can directly and indirectly impact an aquatic ecosystem. (Karr, 1991; Poff, et al., 1997). Due to the recent phenomenon of climate change, the timing and pattern of rainfall has changed and affected the flow regime of certain basins. Hence, in this research, the future impact of climate change on the river flow regime and aquatic ecosystem of the Mangyeong River, a medium-sized basin in Korea, has been quantified by analysis of environmental flow components and physical habitat modeling. Consequently, it is predicted that there will be crucial changes in the material conditions related to the river flow regime, and the risk of ecological environmental changes will greatly increase.