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Integrating ecology with hydromorphology: a priority for river science and management 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
I.P. Vaughan M. Diamond A.M. Gurnell K.A. Hall A. Jenkins N.J. Milner L.A. Naylor D.A. Sear G. Woodward S.J. Ormerod 《水产资源保护:海洋与淡水生态系统》2009,19(1):113-125
- 1. The assessment of links between ecology and physical habitat has become a major issue in river research and management. Key drivers include concerns about the conservation implications of human modifications (e.g. abstraction, climate change) and the explicit need to understand the ecological importance of hydromorphology as prescribed by the EU's Water Framework Directive. Efforts are focusing on the need to develop ‘eco‐hydromorphology’ at the interface between ecology, hydrology and fluvial geomorphology. Here, the scope of this emerging field is defined, some research and development issues are suggested, and a path for development is sketched out.
- 2. In the short term, major research priorities are to use existing literature or data better to identify patterns among organisms, ecological functions and river hydromorphological character. Another early priority is to identify model systems or organisms to act as research foci. In the medium term, the investigation of pattern–processes linkages, spatial structuring, scaling relationships and system dynamics will advance mechanistic understanding. The effects of climate change, abstraction and river regulation, eco‐hydromorphic resistance/resilience, and responses to environmental disturbances are likely to be management priorities. Large‐scale catchment projects, in both rural and urban locations, should be promoted to concentrate collaborative efforts, to attract financial support and to raise the profile of eco‐hydromorphology.
- 3. Eco‐hydromorphological expertise is currently fragmented across the main contributory disciplines (ecology, hydrology, geomorphology, flood risk management, civil engineering), potentially restricting research and development. This is paradoxical given the shared vision across these fields for effective river management based on good science with social impact. A range of approaches is advocated to build sufficient, integrated capacity that will deliver science of real management value over the coming decades.
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- 1. Many rivers and streams across the world have been channelized for various purposes. Channel cross‐sections of meandering rivers are asymmetrical and have cross‐sectional diversity in their physical environment; cross‐sections of a channelized river are typically trapezoidal and have little cross‐sectional diversity, both in physical and ecological conditions. Several programmes to restore stream meanders have been undertaken to improve river ecosystems degraded by channelization. However, the association between diversification in the physical environment due to meander restoration and the macroinvertebrate community structure is poorly known.
- 2. This study of a lowland river in Japan assessed how the cross‐sectional diversity of the physical environment changed with restoration of a meander in a channelized river, and how the macroinvertebrate communities responded to the changes in physical habitat variation. Comparisons were made between the macroinvertebrate communities of a channelized reach, the restored meandering reach, and a natural meandering reach.
- 3. Natural meandering and restored meandering reaches showed higher cross‐sectional diversity in physical variables and total taxon richness across a reach than did the channelized reach. Almost all taxa observed in the natural and restored meandering reaches were concentrated in the shallowest marginal habitats near the banks. Shear velocity increasing with water depth had a negative association with macroinvertebrate density and richness.
- 4. This study demonstrated that the shallow river bed along the inside of bends formed point bars that provided a highly stable substrate, a suitable habitat for macroinvertebrates in a lowland river. It is concluded that meander restoration could be an effective strategy for in‐stream habitat restoration in lowland meandering rivers.
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Modelling functional fish habitat connectivity in rivers: A case study for prioritizing restoration actions targeting brown trout 
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下载免费PDF全文 - Throughout the world, decreased connectivity of fluvial habitats caused by artificial river channel alterations such as culverts, weirs and dykes is seen as an important threat to the long‐term survival of many aquatic species. In addition to assessing habitat quality and abundance, wildlife managers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of taking into account habitat connectivity when setting priorities for restoration. In this paper, a new approach of spatial analysis adapted to rivers and streams is proposed for modelling 2D functional habitat connectivity, integrating distance, costs and risk of travelling between habitat patches (e.g. daily use, spawning, refuge) for particular fish species, size classes and life stages.
- This approach was applied to a case study in which brown trout (Salmo trutta) habitat accessibility was examined and compared under various scenarios of stream restoration in a highly fragmented stream in Ile‐de‐France. Probabilities of reaching spawning habitats were estimated from a trout‐populated area located downstream of the barriers and from potential daily‐use habitat patches across the stream segment.
- The approach successfully helped prioritize restoration actions by identifying options that yield the greatest increase in accessible spawning habitat areas and connectivity between spawning habitat and daily‐use habitat patches. This case study illustrates the practical use of the approach and the software in the context of river habitat management.
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- 1. The ecological status of floodplain areas along the Austrian section of the Danube was assessed by an approach based on dragonfly surveys. Although this river section contains a relatively high portion of the river‐type‐specific alluvial floodplain areas, most of them are influenced by river regulation and damming.
- 2. A key element of the assessment procedure, which is oriented towards the new EC Water Framework Directive, is the Odonate Habitat Index.
- 3. Classification of ecological status is based on the comparison between the status quo and reference conditions derived from a historical situation minimally influenced by human activities.
- 4. Data from 408 sites from 14 investigation areas were used. Ten of the 14 areas were ranked in class II (‘good ecological status’) within the five‐tiered system, which is the level of ecological status targeted in the directive. One area corresponds to the reference condition (class I, ‘high ecological status’), and three areas do not meet the quality objective (class III, ‘moderate ecological status’). A total of 49 species were found along the whole section, which represents 82% of the river‐type‐specific reference list.
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- 1. A method has been developed for assessing the degree of human alteration of river flow regimes relative to near‐natural or reference conditions.
- 2. The Dundee Hydrological Regime Alteration Method (DHRAM) utilizes the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration approach of the US Nature Conservancy to classify the risk of damage to in‐stream ecology using a five‐class scheme compatible with the requirements of the EC Water Framework Directive.
- 3. Separate methods have been developed for rivers and lakes, though only the former are considered in this paper.
- 4. DHRAM uses daily mean flow time‐series data, representing un‐impacted and impacted situations for the site of interest, in relation to any type of anthropogenic hydrological impact such as impoundments, abstractions or flow augmentation.
- 5. Procedures for coping with different levels of data availability are outlined, utilizing the Micro Low Flows computer package to generate synthetic series of daily mean flows, supplemented by flow alteration data as appropriate.
- 6. The utility of DHRAM is demonstrated through a pair of Scottish case studies illustrating its ability in classifying regime alteration and supporting mapping, which will be of value to river basin managers.
- 7. Finally, present and future issues relating to the calibration of DHRAM scores to levels of ecological damage are discussed.
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- 1. Macroinvertebrates and phytobenthic organisms (e.g. diatoms) are frequently used as bioindicators of water quality, yet few studies compare their effectiveness despite both being emphasized in the EC Water Framework Directive.
- 2. Here, as a case study, the efficacy of each group in assessing acid–base status in the catchment of the Welsh River Wye was evaluated from surveys in 2 years.
- 3. Ordination showed that both diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages varied highly significantly with pH, alkalinity and calcium concentrations. Moreover, ordination scores were highly inter‐correlated between these groups in both study years.
- 4. There were also contrasts, with diatoms and macroinvertebrates changing in differing ways with catchment land‐use and channel hydromorphology. These differing responses suggest complementary indicator value, while variation in generation times between diatoms and macroinvertebrates suggests potentially contrasting speeds of response to variations over different timescales.
- 5. These data reveal that significant water quality problems in the River Wye, a proposed Special Area of Conservation, are generated from the continued acidification of low‐order, headwater streams and this has considerable significance for the objectives of the Water Framework Directive, and the EC Habitats Directive.
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- 1. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires member states to establish ‘type‐specific biological reference conditions’ for the assessment of surface waters and describes a method for establishing such biological targets. The methodology described in the Directive is based on geographic and physical characteristics and similar to the ‘multimetric’ approach used widely in North America, but contrasts with the biological classification of the ‘multivariate’ approach which is commonly used in Europe.
- 2. An investigation was made of the relative efficiency of the multimetric and multivariate classification approaches in partitioning the observed biological variation of the macroinvertebrate communities of 22 minimally disturbed lakes in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the accuracy of predictive models based on the two approaches was compared.
- 3. The WFD environmental typologies partitioned the observed biological variation poorly with a maximum ANOSIM R‐value of 0.216 compared with 0.609 for a multivariate biological site classification. The WFD System B approach partitioned more variation than the System A approach.
- 4. The use of a predictive model, based on any of the site classification approaches, resulted in more accurate faunal predictions than a null model. However, the biological model produced the most accurate predictions.
- 5. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the environmental variables used in the biological classification model explained more variation (28%) than the best‐performing environmental classification model (24%). The most important variable was pH, followed by surface area and altitude. The variables used in all approaches explained more variation when used as continuous rather than categorized parameters.
- 6. The results of this work, the first such comparative study of predictive models in lakes, concur with similar studies in streams. It may be concluded that large‐scale environmental classifications are unreliable as a method for setting type‐specific reference targets for the ecological assessment of fresh waters.
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- 1. Multivariate analysis of vegetation and water beetles recorded in the abandoned drains and flooded workings of a cut‐over lowland Irish raised bog, Montiaghs Moss, shows that water depth and trophic status are key predictors of plant species composition and that vegetation community structure significantly explains water beetle composition.
- 2. The spatial distribution of secondary and tertiary drains and peat pits influences species composition indirectly, through trophic status, by connecting habitats with primary agricultural drains passing through the bog.
- 3. Habitat isolation and the cessation of drain management promote change in the submerged aquatic vegetation, emergent‐swamp and poor‐fen habitats recorded by facilitating vegetation development and surface acidification.
- 4. The ecological consequences are likely to be a reduction in the area of open‐water habitats, the development of poor‐fen vegetation and the subsequent loss of high conservation value species of plants and beetles.
- 5. Management for biodiversity conservation should initially address water quality, for example, through the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive, followed by restoration to promote structural and spatial heterogeneity of drain and peat‐pit habitats.
- 6. At a landscape scale, implementing ditch and peat‐pit management across abandoned cut‐over lowland raised bog habitats in the farmed Northern Ireland countryside, through EU Common Agricultural Policy agri‐environment schemes, would give regional gains.
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Gerald Maier Rebecca J. Nimmo‐Smith Gillian A. Glegg Alan D. Tappin Paul J. Worsfold 《水产资源保护:海洋与淡水生态系统》2009,19(1):43-56
- 1. Increased inputs of nutrients to estuaries can lead to undesirable effects associated with eutrophication, including algal blooms, changes in species composition and bottom anoxia. Several estuaries and coastal areas around the UK have increased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations, elevated concentrations of chlorophyll a and changes in algal community composition and abundance. This paper reviews the pressures that lead to high nutrient concentrations in estuaries and considers the likely effectiveness of current and proposed regulatory actions.
- 2. The main sources of nutrients to estuaries are river runoff, sewage discharges, atmospheric inputs and possibly submarine groundwater discharges, although little is known about the latter. Significant reductions in N and P inputs have been realized following application of the EU's Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. Atmospheric NOx and NHx emissions have also decreased and are expected to decrease further in the next decade as implementation of existing legislation continues, and new controls are introduced for activities such as shipping.
- 3. Agricultural inputs reach estuaries principally through diffuse sources, either in surface water (and in some areas possibly groundwater) or, for N, via the atmosphere. Over 10 years ago the Nitrates Directive was introduced to tackle the problem of N discharges from agriculture but little change in N loads to estuaries has been recorded.
- 4. To meet the aims of the EU Water Framework Directive, for at least ‘good’ ecological status, more rigorous application and implementation of the Nitrates Directive, together with changes in the Common Agriculture Policy and farming practice are likely to be needed. Even then, the slow response of the natural environment to change and the inherent variability of estuaries means that their responses may not be as predicted. Research is needed into the relationship between policy drivers and environmental responses to ensure actions taken will achieve the planned results.
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- 1. Historically, ecological assessment of lakes has depended on open‐water chemical and phytoplankton analysis, with trophic status determined by chlorophyll a and total phosphorus following the general protocol of the OECD lake classification scheme. This has been accompanied by a prevailing opinion that the littoral zone of lakes is too heterogeneous to allow meaningful inter‐lake comparisons.
- 2. Council of the European Communities Directive 2000/60/EC establishing a framework in the field of water policy (the Water Framework Directive) requires a broader approach to ecological assessment, including the need to incorporate a range of biotic variables. This paper describes the results of a monitoring programme designed to determine within‐ and among‐lake variation of macroinvertebrate communities found in defined mesohabitats of 22 lakes incorporating a range of lake types. Three sampling approaches were applied to the study.
- 3. Triplicate macroinvertebrate samples from a cobble/pebble mesohabitat of 11 lakes showed that community composition from a standard habitat was robust.
- 4. Twinned samples from contrasting habitats of pebble/cobble and macrophyte dominated mesohabitats of 21 lakes had greater similarity within than among lakes. This showed that even across contrasting habitat structure, macroinvertebrate assemblages can provide a reliable lake‐specific indicator.
- 5. Multivariate analysis of replicate samples from 15 visually distinct mesohabitats in one lake showed that within‐lake variation could, nevertheless, be identified as distinct clusters of invertebrate assemblages.
- 6. Conclusions from the work are that variations within lakes were nested in among‐lake variation across a range of lake types, and that macroinvertebrate assemblages can provide meaningful assessment of ecological differences across lakes. Monitoring can, however, produce a substantial amount of ‘noise’ from the data that reflects the complexity of macroinvertebrate community structure in littoral zones. It is recommended that incorporation of macroinvertebrates in ecological assessment is most useful when confined to well defined mesohabitats rather than attempt to incorporate a complete range of mesohabitats within a single lake.
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Rossano Bolpagni 《水产资源保护:海洋与淡水生态系统》2020,30(9):1734-1740
- Natural wetlands emerge as the best sites to preserve the diversity of aquatic and riparian vegetation; however, especially in the lowlands, pristine wetlands and aquatic ecosystems have almost completely disappeared through land reclamation and agricultural development. Actions are needed, therefore, to maintain and recreate a wide network of wetlands able to preserve adequate levels of vegetation diversity.
- Focusing on a complex wetland system located in an overexploited plain, the article entitled ‘The importance of being natural in a human‐altered riverscape: Role of wetland type in supporting habitat heterogeneity and the functional diversity of vegetation’, published in 2016 in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (AQC) explored the role of wetland origin and hydrology as the main drivers of physical and vegetation functional diversity, following a hierarchical sampling approach.
- The main results reinforced the key contribution of natural sites in maintaining vegetation diversity in heavily impaired riverine contexts, suggesting a direct effect of the interannual and seasonal dynamics of water‐level variations in the observed vegetation patterns.
- The article offered an important contribution to our knowledge of vegetation patterns in wetlands, partly attributed to the innovative functional, hierarchical approach applied which is able to guarantee reliable data on the distribution patterns of physical heterogeneity and wetland vegetation.
- The findings of the article have been applied and adopted in a series of technical handbooks designed, inter alia, to support the monitoring programmes of habitats of community interest or vegetation of relevance for aquatic biodiversity conservation. In addition, this article has helped to raise awareness of the essential roles played by wetlands in agricultural landscapes and has emphasized the need for a better synergy between the European Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive. Several ecological recovery projects have been funded in line with the results described in the AQC article.
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A. Basset L. Sabetta A. Fonnesu D. Mouillot T. Do Chi P. Viaroli G. Giordani S. Reizopoulou M. Abbiati G. C. Carrada 《水产资源保护:海洋与淡水生态系统》2006,16(5):441-455
- 1. Transitional waters are ecotones between terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, being characterized by high spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability.
- 2. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) posed to the scientific community the challenge to classify these ecosystems into a small number of types, while retaining a functional classification of ecosystem types.
- 3. A niche theory approach is proposed to identify the limiting forcing factors organizing biological quality elements, i.e. the limiting niche dimensions.
- 4. The analysis of a macro‐invertebrate dataset from published papers on 36 Italian lagoons suggested a two‐level typological classification of Mediterranean lagoons.
- 5. Basic ecological theories, such as niche and island biogeography theories, have fundamental implications for the process of developing a typological classification for all aquatic ecosystems, as required by the WFD.
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- 1. An index of riparian quality useful for the management of streams and rivers is presented. The purpose of the index is to provide managers with a simple method to evaluate riparian habitat quality. The index is easy to calculate and can be used together with any other index of water quality to assess the ecological status of streams and rivers. It may also be a useful tool for defining ‘high ecological status’ under the EC Water Framework Directive.
- 2. The index, named QBR, is based on four components of riparian habitat: total riparian vegetation cover, cover structure, cover quality and channel alterations. It also takes into account differences in the geomorphology of the river from its headwaters to the lower reaches. These differences are measured in a simple, quantitative way. The index score varies between 0 and 100 points.
- 3. The QBR index is calculated in the field through a two‐sided A4 page form that may be completed in 10 min.
- 4. The development of the QBR index included trials in four Mediterranean stream catchments in Catalonia (NE Spain). Seventy‐two sampling sites were assessed and results were used to test the index.
- 5. No taxonomic expertise is needed to apply the index, although some knowledge of local flora is required to differentiate between native and non‐native tree species.
- 6. These results show that the QBR index may be used despite regional differences in plant communities. The quality ranges obtained when the index is applied are not heavily influenced by observers at the same site.
- 7. At present, the index is being used by different research teams and tested in a comparative study of 12 watersheds along the Mediterranean Spanish coast.
- 8. It is expected that the QBR index may be adapted for use in other geographical areas in temperate and semi‐arid zones without changes in the index rationale.