Development of habitat-based methods for ecological drought monitoring and impact assessment in river ecosystems

Seo-yeon Park; Sang-Hyeok Park; Young-Jun Kim; Joo-Heon Lee

doi:10.3741/JKWRA.2026.59.S-1.773

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2026 Vol.59, Issue 7S-1 Preview Page Next Page

Development of habitat-based methods for ecological drought monitoring and impact assessment in river ecosystems 하천 생태계 건강성을 위한 서식지 기반 생태학적 가뭄 모니터링 및 영향평가 기법 개발

31 July 2026. pp. 773-781

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Abstract

This study aims to assess the health of river ecosystems in South Korea and to develop an ecological drought monitoring method based on fish habitat. Gamcheon and Jicheon were selected as study sites, including both regulated(legal instream flow designated) and unregulated rivers, to estimate the optimum flow—ensuring suitable fish habitat—and the minimum flow—maintaining extreme habitat conditions. The optimum flow was determined using HEC-EFM (Ecosystem Functions Model) by incorporating historical hydrological data and habitat conditions of the target fish species, while the minimum flow was estimated based on extreme low flow using IHA (Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration). To quantitatively evaluate ecological drought, we developed the Ecological Drought Index (EDI) based on fish habitat area. The results indicate that the habitat area gradually recovered with increasing streamflow in Gamcheon and Jicheon However, at the minimum flow, habitat area decreased by 15-20% compared to the optimum flow, emphasizing the significant impact of flow variations on habitat conditions and ecosystem health. These findings highlight the necessity of ecological drought monitoring and environmental flow management. This study proposes an ecological drought monitoring framework applicable to unregulated rivers and provides a foundation for freshwater ecosystem conservation and sustainable river management strategies.

Keywords

Ecological drought

Environmental flow

HEC-EFM

IHA

Habitat area

Ecological Drought Index (EDI)

River ecosystem management

본 연구는 국내 하천 생태계의 건강성을 평가하고 어류의 서식지를 기반으로 하는 생태학적 가뭄 모니터링 방법을 개발하였다. 연구 대상 하천으로는 감천과 지천을 선정하였으며, 하천 유지유량이 고시된 유역과 고시되지 않은 유역을 대상으로 어류의 서식지를 기준으로 평가되는 최적유량과 서식환경을 유지하기 위한 최소유량을 산정하였다. 최적유량은 HEC-EFM (Ecosystem Functions Model)을 통해 과거 관측자료와 대상어종의 서식환경을 고려한 환경유량(Environmental Flow)을 산정하였고, 최소유량은 IHA (Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration)를 활용하여 과거 관측자료 기반의 극치갈수량(Extreme Low Flow)을 기준으로 설정하였다. 생태학적 가뭄의 영향을 정량적으로 평가하기 위해 대상어종의 서식지 면적 기반의 생태학적 가뭄 영향 지수(Ecological Drought Impact Index, EDI)를 개발하였다. 연구 결과, 감천과 지천 모두에서 유량 증가에 따라 서식지 면적이 점진적으로 증가하여 생태학적 가뭄이 회복되는 경향을 보였으며, 특히 최적유량 대비 최소유량에서 서식지 면적이 15~20% 감소하는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 유량변화가 서식지 면적 및 생태계 건강성에 미치는 영향이 크며, 생태학적 가뭄 모니터링과 환경-생태 유량 관리의 중요성을 시사한다. 본 연구는 하천 유지유량이 고시되지 않은 지역에서도 적용 가능한 생태학적 가뭄 모니터링 프레임워크를 제시하였으며, 서식지 기반 가뭄 평가 기법을 활용하여 수생태계 보전 및 지속 가능한 하천 관리 방안 수립을 위한 기초자료를 제공할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

키워드

생태학적 가뭄

환경유량

HEC-EFM

IHA

서식지 면적

하천 생태계 관리

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Information

Publisher :KOREA WATER RESOURECES ASSOCIATION
Publisher(Ko) :한국수자원학회
Journal Title :Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
Journal Title(Ko) :한국수자원학회 논문집
Volume : 59
No :7
Pages :773-781
Received Date : 2025-04-26
Revised Date : 2025-09-10
Accepted Date : 2025-09-12
DOI :https://doi.org/10.3741/JKWRA.2026.59.S-1.773

Journal of Korea Water Resources Association ISSN:2799-8746(Print) 2799-8754(Online) 한국수자원학회 논문집

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