{
  "abstract": "Conventional ecological-flow assessments often rely on fixed thresholds or static hydrological indices, limiting their ability to capture hydrological variability, ecological-service demands, and reach-scale water losses. To address these limitations, this study develops a dynamic ecological-flow calculation and adaptive regulation model based on variable ecological-flow intervals, in which ecological flow is represented by lower and upper limits rather than a single fixed value. Hydrological shifts are identified using change-point detection, and variable ecological base-flow and incremental-flow intervals are derived by integrating multiple hydrological methods and ecological-service demands. River seepage and water-surface evaporation are further incorporated to derive the final ecological-flow intervals. A guarantee-level-based adaptive regulation mechanism is developed to adjust ecological-flow allocation under different hydrological conditions. The model was applied to the Shaanxi reach of the Wei River mainstream. The results show that ecological-flow intervals generally increase from upstream to downstream and are higher during the flood season than during the non-flood season. The dominant contributors to ecological-flow requirements differed between upstream and downstream reaches, with environmental-protection demand accounting for 64.6%–78.6% of the upper ecological-flow limits at upstream sections and sediment-transport demand accounting for up to 98.0% downstream. Under moderately dry conditions, lower ecological-flow limits generally achieved high guarantee levels, whereas upper ecological-flow limits associated with ecological-service demands showed greater seasonal variability. Under extremely dry conditions, the reliability of upper ecological-flow limits decreased, particularly in downstream reaches, although adaptive regulation improved the guarantee levels of high-priority ecological-service demands. Compared with conventional fixed-threshold ecological-flow approaches, the proposed model provides a more adaptive representation by integrating hydrological regime shifts, ecological-service demands, and reach-scale water losses, thereby supporting ecological-flow management in regulated and water-scarce river systems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China; Corresponding author.",
    "State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China",
    "State Key Laboratory of Water Engineering Ecology and Environment in Arid Area, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, China; Powerchina Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited, Xi'an 710065, China"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Na Wei"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yujin Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kunming Lu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Haoqiang Qie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yilin Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/640b6ns2ph7hh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115491",
  "fulltext_url": "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X26008927",
  "id": "640b6ns2ph7hh",
  "issns": [
    "1470-160X",
    "1872-7034"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115491",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "QH540-549.5"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2309|Fish Ecology and Management Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213243492",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-23",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/640b6ns2ph7hh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:43:20Z",
      "native_id": "6b8a5310117d48e98eacbfec16461a15",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115491"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2309|Fish Ecology and Management Studies",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A dynamic calculation model for river ecological flow based on variable intervals",
  "title_text": "A dynamic calculation model for river ecological flow based on variable intervals",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:43:20Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/640b6ns2ph7hh",
  "venue": "Ecological Indicators",
  "versions": []
}