The Evaluation of River Conditions in the Lanyang Plain through the River Ecological Corridor Approach

The core goal of space management in the Yilan Area is the sustainable development of the eco-environment. To form an ecological corridor network in Yilan, we need to improve the quality of river ecosystems. Our research evaluates the river conditions in the Lanyang Plain using the river ecological corridor evaluation system. The results of this research, as well as a review of the future planning and design of river constructions, show that the quality of most river eco-environments in the Lanyang Plain are either in fair or in poor condition as evaluated by the river ecological corridor evaluation system. The causes of poor quality river ecological corridors include non-ecological hydraulic engineering constructions, the over use of the floodplain area and the establishment of non-ecological bike paths parallel to the river. We suggest that the guidelines of space management for the rivers in the Yilan area should steer towards ecological orientated engineering with no interference in the river area, and that the recreation facilities using the river should be that of point contact rather than a parallel connection.