Prof. Yangdong Pan from Portland State University visited IHB on June 29, 2018.

Prof. Yangdong Pan from Portland State University was invited to Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences for Academic exchange on June 29, 2018. During his visit, he gave an oral presentation with the title of "In search of the sustainable water management: A case study in The American West ". 

In his presentation, Prof. Pan took the western part of the United States as an example and tried to explore whether human beings can coexist peacefully with the natural environment from the perspective of science and management.  

Prof. Pan introduced the research results of the River Ecological Assessment project in the western United States. In view of basic features of the western United States, i.e., high mountain wasteland, concentrated irrigated agriculture, rapid population growth, low rainfall, and greater water demand than water supply, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took this region for example, and conducted a systematic evaluation on river ecological condition by means of random and uniform spatial distribution points.  

The results shows that about 50% of the reaches were affected by human activities, such as riparian disturbance, exotic species invasion, nutrient excess input, etc., which were the main factors affecting the river ecological status. The project provides an important method for the river ecological evaluation in the whole America.  

Prof. Pan then took the Klamath watershed as an example, expounded in details the influence of the western topography, social development, water right change and relevant environmental laws on the water resources of the basin from the perspective of human history.  

In closing, Prof. Pan put forward the thought-provoking question “Can sustainable human communities coexist with a functional natural? ”  

IHB scientists and students listened to the presentation carefully and exchanged views with Prof. Pan on the related issues of ecological evaluation and management of streams.