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With the Yangtze River basin being one of the largest in the world, it holds significant cultural value to all of China.

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Why the Yangtze River Culture Festival is held in Zhangjiagang

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Ecosystem Change: Yangtze Finless Porpoise

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Ecosystem Change: Yangtze Finless Porpoise

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The finless porpoise lives in the Yangtze River and feeds on the fish and other organisms found in the Yangtze River. Their slow demise is signaling that the rivers health is not optimal. At this time it is estimated that there are only about 1,000 in existence (WWF). Pollution to the river from agriculture runoff is one of the many factors that is causing destruction to their natural environment.

Photo Source: "The Yangtze." World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), https://www.wwf.org.uk/where-we-work/places/yangtze-asias-longest-river#:~:text=Here's%20how%20big%20the%20Yangtze,two%2Dthirds%20of%20the%20rice.

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The Chinese alligator is one of the smallest crocodilians. The alligator habitat consists of streams, ponds and wetlands of the lower Yangtze River watershed. There is an estimated 86 adult Chinese alligators in the wild making it one of the most endangered crocodilians in the world (Britannica). Rice fields have lead to the demise of their habitats. The Chinese alligator is especially vulnerable to chemicals found in pesticides.

Photo source: Rafferty, John P.. "Chinese alligator". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Apr. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/animal/Chinese-alligator.

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The use of phosphate fertilizer over the decades has contributed to higher concentrations of heavy metals in the the soil and water. Concentrations quadrupled from before 1980 to 2004 (Zhang et al 2008). Heavy metals concentrations that have the biggest concern are cadmium, lead, mercury and zinc that are introduced to the watershed primarily through phosphate fertilizers.

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Cadmium is introduced to watersheds through fertilizers. Cadmium levels may be absorbed in plants at high concentrations (Zhang et al 2008). Since the primary use of land in the Yangtze River watershed is for agriculture this is a major concern for people that rely on its crops for food as well as other animals that consume plants within the watershed. Cadmium is extremely harmful to humans and animals when consumed in high concentrations.

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The Yangtze is a major producer of rice worldwide, but many are unaware of heavy metals that may be present in rice. Industrial and agriculture practice are root causes for increased chromium and arsenic levels in rice (Ding 2024). A study in China estimated that chromium levels can often exceed safe levels for rice grown within the Yangtze River watershed (Haizhen et al. 2024). Chromium and arsenic may be very harmful to humans and chromium is known to be carcinogen.

Photo source: "The Origins and History of Rice in China and Beyond." ThoughtCo, https://www.thoughtco.com/origins-history-of-rice-in-china-170639.

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As pollutants enter water systems of the Yangtze River watershed smaller organisms are exposed them which starts the process of bioaccumulation up the food chain. Bioaccumulation progressively gets worse down the river as well as many of the shallow lakes within the watershed. Bioaccumulation of several heavy metals is greatly impacting animals and humans that are farther up the food chain. Mercury is highly toxic to people and is often enters our systems from fish consumption. As mercury levels rise from fertilizer use, fish experience higher levels of mercury in their systems which may be passed to humans. Fish caught from the waters of Yangtze are a food source to not only the people in the basin, but also to locations that fish are exported to.

Photo source: Health risk assessment of heavy metals in fish and accumulation patterns in food web in the upper Yangtze River, China. Ecotaxicology and Environmental Safety, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651317304347

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Parts the Yangtze river and its lakes are suffering from Eutrophication due to the agriculture pollution from either animal manure, nitrogen or phosphorus. As these elements increase in water, the potential for eutrophication increases. Aside from the obvious impacts of eutrophication, fish populations would be significantly impacted which China relies on for food as well as their economy.

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Eutrophication: Taihu Lake and Chaohu Lake

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Eutrophication: Taihu Lake and Chaohu Lake

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Agriculture pollution has contributed to 68% of phosphorus and 74% of nitrogen levels in the Chaohu Lake. (Zhang et al. 2008). In 2007 eutrophication was so severe in Chaohu Lake that the city had to shut down water stations and individuls were forced to get drinking water from other sources for a month (Wang 2019).

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Livestock, such as cow and pig, populations have increased over the years. Livestock waste is often used as a fertilizer for crops within the watershed. Overtime, the high concentrations of nitrogen from animal manure makes its way to the Yangtze River and lakes found within the watershed. Nitrogen levels from livestock account for about a third of the nitrogen levels found within the watershed (Chen 2019).

Photo source: Nitrogen in the Yangtze River Basin: Pollution Reduction through Coupling Crop and Livestock Production. Environmental Science & Technology, 2022. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c08808

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The Three Gorges Dam was the worlds largest dam and is the most productive dam in the world (CWRC 2021). The dam increased deepwater reservoirs aiding in transportation. The construction of the dam not only displaced over a million people, but destroyed natural habitats that are essential to many species (CWRC 2021). The dam has also significantly changed the river by eliminating several site that provided cultural value such as scenery and architecture.

Photosource: "Three Gorges Dam." Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Three-Gorges-Dam

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Due to the various types of pollution, including agriculture pollution, almost half of the individuals that reply on the Yangtze River do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. The Yangtze River is the only source of water for some locations which makes the need for improvement so vital.

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People rely heavily on the Yangtze River for food, water, transportation, power and cultural significance. Many species also depend on the river. Letting the basin's health decline is not an option and requires solutions for moving forward.

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The Yangtze River: Why China’s ‘beating heart’ is too big to fail

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Changing the way in which China grows crops could be a major factor in solving the health of the basin. By rethinking what crops to grow we could see less impacts to the health of people and other organisms as well as the soil and water health.

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Along the Yangtze River: Hunan Adjusts Crop Structure to Reduce Agricultural Pollution

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Subsidies for decreasing fertilizer use are a great option in decreasing agriculture pollution, but not the only solution. Subsidies have been implemented for expanding planting area and reducing fertilizer within the Yangtze River Basin, but income is not always achieved by these factors alone. Studies have shown that experience is essential for successful farming if reducing fertilizer use. (Guo 2021). This brings to light the need for more education within the industry to see more positive impacts.

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In 2015 the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs implemented the the Zero Growth Action Plan (Zhang 2022). The plan aimed to stop fertilizer growth by the year 2020 and was successful. The momentum should not stop with this and the plan moving forward should be to further reduce fertilizer use.

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Solutions: Habitat Restoration and Increasing Biodiversity

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Solutions: Habitat Restoration and Increasing Biodiversity

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Efforts are currently in place to reintroduce fish species back in the Yangtze as well as restore their habitats.

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Scientists save endangered ancient species in China's mother river

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The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and is the 3rd longest river in the world, passed by the Nile and Amazon River. The river stretches 6300km through China and drains an area of 698,265 square miles (CWRC 2021). The basin accounts for 180 million hectares (WWF). Average rainfall is about 43 inches per year (Greer 2024).

Photo source: Yangtze River. WorldAtlas, https://www.worldatlas.com/rivers/yangtze-river.html

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The Yangtze River watershed is home to about a third of China's population making it a valuable resource to the country (WWF). The Yangtze river serves many purposes such as drinking water, transportation, hydropower, fishing, recreation, industrial, wildlife and cultural purposes (CWRC 2021). The river has been at risk due to pollution and overfishing for some time. Pollution comes from several sources, including industrial use and human waste and agriculture run off.

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The Yangtze River watershed is primarily used for agriculture with their primary crop being rice. Currently, more than two-thirds of China's rice is grown within the Yangtze watershed (Muranov 2024). Fertile soil and desirable weather make the Yangtze watershed a desirable location for agriculture use since growing seasons may be up to 11 months of the year depending on the crop and location.

Photo Source: Food-Energy-Water Analysis at Spatial Scales for Districts in the Yangtze River Basin (China). Environmental Engineering Science, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-land-use-and-land-cover-and-population-density-of-the-Yangtze-River-basin_fig1_332993236

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Climate change has increased the risk for droughts and heatwaves across the Yangtze. These detrimental impacts have resulted in some of the small rivers and lakes of the watershed to dry up completely. In recent years, the basin experienced it's worst draught in 150 years.

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600-year-old statues revealed as China’s Yangtze river dips to lowest level in 150 years

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Rafferty, John P. Chinese alligator. Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Apr. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/animal/Chinese-alligator. Accessed 2 December 2024.

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Ding, Haizhen, Liu, Jiwei, Liu, Qin, Guo, Liping, Hang, Qianyu, Zhang, Yi, Jia, Jirong, Tao, Tingting, Liu, Qiang, Ding, Chao,

Risk assessment and source tracing of heavy metals in major rice-producing provinces of Yangtze River Basin.

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https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389424027857.

Wang, Mengru, Strokal, Maryna, Burek, Peter, Kroeze, Carolien, Ma, Lin, Janssen, Annette B.G., Excess nutrient loads to Lake Taihu: Opportunities for nutrient reduction.

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Chen, Xuanjing, Wang, Mengru, Kroeze, Carolien, Chen, Xi, Ma, Lin, Chen, Xinping, Shi, Xiaojun, and Strokal, Maryna.

Nitrogen in the Yangtze River Basin: Pollution Reduction through Coupling Crop and Livestock Production. Environmental Science & Technology, 2022. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c08808

Guo, Lili, Li, Houjian, Cao, Xuxin, Cao, Andi, Huang, Minjun,

Effect of agricultural subsidies on the use of chemical fertilizer, Journal of Environmental Management, 2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479721016832