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The Italian spined loach (Cobitis bilineata) is an elongated, small sized (12 cm) spined loach native to Northern Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. As for loaches in general, little is known about their individual movements in nature. Passive integrated transponders (PIT-tags) are small (typically 7-32 mm), relatively cheap, and allow tracking of individual fish movements and behavior. A fundamental assumption in animal telemetry is that the performance of a tagged animal does not deviate substantially from its natural performance. Although PIT-tagged fish often display high survival and tag retention, the effect varies between species and contexts, and few studies have looked at behavioral effects of PIT-tagging. Here we demonstrate a PIT-tagging methodology for spined loaches, and compare survival, activity, and provoked escape response (maximum swimming speed) between tagged and control fish. We also track tag retention in the tagged fish. Italian spined loaches tagged with 12 mm PIT-tags displayed high tag retention and no extra mortality, and no effects on tagging on activity or maximum swimming speed were observed. The tag-to-fish weight and length ratios in our study ranged from 2 - 5 % and 10 - 16 % respectively, and we conclude that PIT-tagging, within these ratios, appears suitable for Italian spined loach. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Hydropower globally represents the main source of renewable energy, and provides several benefits, e.g., water storage and flexibility; on the other hand, it may cause significant impacts on the environment. Hence sustainable hydropower needs to achieve a balance between electricity generation, impacts on ecosystems and benefits on society, supporting the achievement of the Green Deal targets. The implementation of digital, information, communication and control (DICC) technologies is emerging as an effective strategy to support such a trade-off, especially in the European Union (EU), fostering both the green and the digital transitions. In this study, we show how DICC can foster the environmental integration of hydropower into the Earth spheres, with focus on the hydrosphere (e.g., on water quality and quantity, hydropeaking mitigation, environmental flow control), biosphere (e.g., improvement of riparian vegetation, fish habitat and migration), atmosphere (reduction of methane emissions and evaporation from reservoirs), lithosphere (better sediment management, reduction of seepages), and on the anthroposphere (e.g., reduction of pollution associated to combined sewer overflows, chemicals, plastics and microplastics). With reference to the abovementioned Earth spheres, the main DICC applications, case studies, challenges, Technology Readiness Level (TRL), benefits and limitations, and transversal benefits for energy generation and predictive Operation and Maintenance (O&M), are discussed. The priorities for the European Union are highlighted. Although the paper focuses primarly on hydropower, analogous considerations are valid for any artificial barrier, water reservoir and civil structure which interferes with freshwater systems. Digitalization and real-time control to mitigate environmental impacts along rivers: Focus on artificial barriers, hydropower systems and European priorities

This study investigates how the environmental performances of biodegradable waste (e.g., organic fraction of municipal solid waste, green waste, agro-industrial waste) treatment plants are reported and how their improvement is planned by the managing companies, and assesses current key quantitative data versus the Best Available Techniques associated emission levels (BAT-AELs). Based on their Environmental Statements (ESs), 16 installations registered to EMAS in Italy in 2021 were analyzed. A set of 15 technical-environmental-social key aspects was described through 131 different indicators. Emissions to air, odor emissions, energy consumption/production, waste production and water consumption were the only key aspects considered significant and quantified by at least 50% of the ESs. Improvement targets were set by 38% of the companies for process management, and by 25% for emissions to air, for a total allocated budget of 25.2 M€. Odor emissions were mostly below the lower BAT-AELs, while NH3 concentration values were slightly above the lower BAT-AELs, demonstrating good performance levels and an overall improvement trend in the period 2018–2020 (−6% and −33.6%, respectively). This study provides interesting hints on the environmental performances of biodegradable waste treatment plants, also contributing to raise the trust of the wide public towards this waste treatment sector.

This study evaluated the environmental performances of 15 Italian waste incineration (WI) plants registered to EMAS. From the EMAS Environmental Statements, the validated data related to 5 environmental aspects (emissions to air, energy consumption/production, waste production and reagent consumption) and 24 key indicators were analyzed to describe and assess the environmental performances of the plants in 2017-2019 in relation to the best available techniques associated emission levels (BAT-AELs) and other sectorial reference values. All air pollutants' average concentrations resulted significantly below the upper BAT-AELs, the majority under the lower BAT-AELs, with an overall slightly decreasing trend (-4.6%). The specific productions of bottom and other ashes were steady over time and just above the lower characteristic values. The specific energy consumption was higher than the average European performance and stable over time, while the specific reagent consumption was harder to evaluate, with results varying for the different reagents. An evaluation of the influence of the WI plants' characteristics on the environmental performances was also performed considering 13 different parameters (e.g., flue gas cleaning technologies, waste treatment capacity, etc.). A correlation analysis highlighted the positive influence of the pre-dedusting stages on overall emissions, specific reagents consumption and specific waste production, and of the plant size on the specific energy production. This study demonstrated that EMAS can provide a tool to evaluate the environmental performances of WI plants and compare different installations using certified data. It also highlighted the excellent performances of the Italian WI plants registered to EMAS compared to the sectorial references.

Floods and droughts are key driving forces shaping aquatic ecosystems. Climate change may alter key attributes of these events and consequently health and distribution of aquatic species. Improved knowledge of biological responses to different types of floods and droughts in rivers should allow the better prediction of the ecological consequences of climate change‐induced flow alterations. This review highlights that in unmodified ecosystems, the intensity and direction of biological impacts of floods and droughts vary, but the overall consequence is an increase in biological diversity and ecosystem health. To predict the impact of climate change, metrics that allow the quantitative linking of physical disturbance attributes to the directions and intensities of biological impacts are needed. The link between habitat change and the character of biological response is provided by the frequency of occurrence of the river wave characteristic—that is the event's predictability. The severity of impacts of floods is largely related to the river wave amplitude (flood magnitude), while the impact of droughts is related to river wavelength (drought duration).

Preservation of a good ecological status in riverine habitats emerged as a priority for water management policies in Europe since the negative impact caused by the construction and operation of dams on the ecohydrology and habitat availability became more evident. Ecological flows, as reported in the recently published European guidance, represent a link between water and habitat EU Directives. This study presents the application of a mesohabitat simulation model (MesoHABSIM) to evaluate and quantify ecological flows in a highly regulated Mediterranean watershed (Nestos River, Northern Greece). Data collection was performed through GIS/GPS mapping surveys, hydro-morphological measurements (water depth, flow, substratum type, etc.) and electrofishing samplings at mesohabitat scale under different discharge conditions. In total, 81 hydro-morphological units were surveyed and 7532 fish samples were collected to develop habitat suitability predictions. Ecological flows were calculated in the range 10–15 m3/s as the required discharge which assures the welfare and sustainability of protected fish species populations. In the lower course of the Nestos River habitat time-series indicated irrigation abstractions as a major stressor since summer was the period where habitat availability thresholds were mostly violated. Application of a revised water management plan is required for the downstream part of the Nestos River in order to maintain high ecological standards in the Natura 2000 sites of the Delta.

The MesoHABitat SImulation Model (MesoHABSIM) is the preferred method to calculate spatio-temporal variation in the fish habitat availability in Italian rivers. With the aim of improving the applicability of the MesoHABSIM approach in the Italian territory, we carried out a systematic review of physical habitat preferences for 31 freshwater fish species and three freshwater lampreys, representing 75% of the total indigenous freshwater fish community of Italy. Information related to suitable ranges of depth, flow velocity, biotic/abiotic substrates, covers/shelters was collected and summarized for two critical life stages (adult and juvenile) and two bioperiods (rearing/growth and spawning). Overall, 250 publications were reviewed, classified as 206 peer-reviewed papers, 20 books, 7 PhD thesis, and 17 grey literature sources. Our analysis revealed substantial deficits of information about habitat requirements for more than 30% of Italian freshwater fish species. This information is particularly scarce for the most threatened endemic species, especially for their most critical bioperiod (i.e., spawning). With the aim of preserving freshwater fish biodiversity as required in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (European Commission, 2020), accurate information on physical habitat requirements for spawning is crucial. As an example application of MesoHABSIM, the collected habitat preference information was used to define and apply mesohabitat suitability criteria for one fish species (Telestes muticellus) in a regulated river reach of Argentina Creek (Province of Imperia, Italy). This analysis demonstrates the potential for applying information from the current review to other fish species.

The Alpine region is an area of conflict between the significant demand for hydropower (HP) generation and the protection of landscape and aquatic ecosystems. Decision Support Systems, like multicriteria analysis (MCA), represent suitable tools to support decision-makers and stakeholders in managing the use of water resources in a more sustainable way. Based on a set of “quality indexes” identified in a previous study, the present paper analyzes the use of MCA in a real case study of HP sustainable management in Aosta Valley, one of the most important Italian regions for HP production. The Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) methodology was applied to quantify the flow to be released by an existing HP plant, in order to balance production needs and watercourse environmental conditions protection considering four criteria (Energy, Environment & Fishing, Landscape, and Economy). The decisional process was developed within a collaborative and participatory framework, involving key stakeholders in every decision-making step, and the obtained results were officially adopted by the Regional Government. In the paper, some innovative aspects of the case study are presented and discussed, like the elaboration of reactive indicators related to the watercourse discharge, progressively updated with the stakeholders along the process, and the definition of “real-time” alternatives, relating the flow releases to the natural discharges in the watercourse. Finally, some weaknesses of this MCA approach are identified and suggestions for improvements in future experimentations are proposed.

The use of phytoremediation systems to enhance the treatment of industrial wastewater coming from a standard depuration process in order to allow their reuse can potentially lead to several interesting benefits (costs savings for depuration processes, freshwater and energy supply with a consequent reduction of the overall environmental impact of the industrial sites). In this work the case study of a large automotive plant (FCA plant in Verrone, Piedmont, NW Italy) was analyzed, with the aim of evaluating the possible application of a phytoremediation system (constructed wetland, CW) to treat the effluents of its existing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP, currently discharged into a watercourse) and reuse them in the industrial processes. For this purpose, a pilot CW system was set up with two different configurations horizontal and vertical. Experiments were carried out to identify the one characterized by the best abatement rate of the pollutant concentrations of the plant effluents. Results showed that the horizontal submerged flow system (HF) was the most efficient phytoremediation system suitable for the aging of the effluents of the existing WWTP in view of their possible reuse in the industrial processes. Furthermore, costs related to its scaling-up for a real application demonstrated that the CW can be the cheaper option compared to a traditional treatment process for wastewater reuse. The amount of treated water which may be reused can range from 55% to 80% of the effluents from the existing WWTP, with a consequent reduction of more than 80% in the current water supply from aquifers.

About 50% of all hydropower plants (HPPs) worldwide were originally commissioned more than 40 years ago, so that the advanced age of the fleet is a major concern across all continents, and especially in Europe. The modernization of HPPs can generate several benefits in terms of generation, flexibility, safety, operation, and may have neutral or even positive implications for the environment. In this work, we appraise several options for the modernization of existing plants, with the exclusion of measures expected to increase the hydro-morphological pressure on water bodies (e.g. increase of withdrawals or new parallel waterways): dam heightening, head loss reduction in waterways, increase of weighted efficiency of electro-mechanical equipment, digitalization and inflow forecast, and floating photovoltaic (evaporation reduction). We provide an indicative estimation of the additional power and annual generation that could be obtained compared to the current condition. We estimate that the overall energy generation could be increased by 8.4% for European Union and 9.4% for the whole Europe by implementing the above-mentioned strategies. The additional energy gain achievable by increasing the inflow was discussed but not included in the above mentioned overall indicator, because it is very site-specific. The additional energy storage achievable by reservoir interconnection and coordinated operation has been estimated in literature as 169 TWh. This suggests that the modernization of HPPs can generate significant benefits in terms of energy, and should be considered as an important element of energy policy, also considering the additional benefits in terms of reliability and flexibility of the energy system that it may deliver. The modernization options considered here, insofar as not entailing a worsening of the hydro-morphological alterations, are also expected to cause limited or no conflict with the environmental objectives of water policies in Europe., Energy Conversion and Management, 246, ISSN:0196-8904, ISSN:1879-2227

The increasing number of water abstractions and water-use conflicts in alpine regions represents a significant threat for these fragile aquatic ecosystems. The use of tools, like multicriteria analysis (MCA), can support related decision-making processes towards sustainable solutions. In this paper, an innovative approach to assess water withdrawals sustainability by integrating the MesoHABSIM (Mesohabitat Simulation Model) into an MCA framework is presented and discussed. The methodology was implemented by replacing, within the MCA assessment, Water Framework Directive biological indicators with the MesoHABSIM based river Habitat Integrity Index, related to watercourse discharge and morphology, which allows quantifying the impacts of withdrawals on river ecosystems and fish communities. The resulting MCA procedure considers four criteria (energy, environment and fishing, landscape, economy) and requires only the use of measurable indicators based on watercourse discharge and its continuous monitoring. It was tested in Aosta Valley region (NW Italy) to both ex ante and ex post scenarios, for different types of water withdrawals and, currently, 20 experimentations, involving 58 hydropower plants and 12 farmer consortia, are ongoing. The proposed MCA process demonstrated its applicability with an increased decision-making quality and involved stakeholders&rsquo, satisfaction and is being officially endorsed in the regional River Strategic Plan.

Even if the demand for energy continues to increase, the European Union Directive 2009/28/EC has set a goal of obtaining 20% of all energy from renewable sources by 2020. In this context, this study investigated two different scenarios: direct combustion and anaerobic digestion. Direct combustion was evaluated using the mass and energy balance method in order to obtain indications of the energy revenue, the emissions, and consequently the necessary flue gas depuration equipment. Anaerobic digestion was evaluated by performing experimental tests in the laboratory, in order to obtain indications of the energy revenue. The results show that both the processes present some advantages: from the energy viewpoint the more suitable process is direct combustion (energy revenue equal to 1.16 MWh/tinput instead to the 0.48 MWh/tinput obtained for the anaerobic digestion), while from the viewpoint of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs, in particular the CO2 emissions) the results are rather similar. (We evaluated that the emission is equal to 1.18 kg CO2/kginput for the direct combustion and to 1.06 kg CO2/kginput for the anaerobic digestion.) The anaerobic digestion presents more advantages from the viewpoint of features a simpler plant layout; the combustion scenario requires a more complex technology, in particular for dealing with NOx emissions. (The concentration coming from the process is equal to 900 mg/Nm3.) For this specific study, based on the obtained results, the anaerobic digestion proved to be the more suitable treatment process. Furthermore, the analysis considered here demonstrates a general methodology useful for energy production compatibility planning.

Where migrating fish have to pass multiple dams, very high passage performance is required at the series of obstacles to avoid accumulated negative effects of multiple dam passage. In some rivers, migrating fish are trapped, transported past several obstacles, and released to continue their migration. Such trap-and-transport solutions, however, have seldom been evaluated. In the Daugava River, Latvia, several dams with no functional fishways block the river for migrating fish. A remnant Atlantic salmon population is being sustained by a sea ranching regime, where returning spawners are caught and artificially spawned, the juveniles raised in hatcheries, and smolts released in to the river in time for their seaward migration. Hatchery released fish, however, differ substantially from wild conspecifics, and in Latvia, as elsewhere throughout the range of salmon, reduced dependency on hatchery production and the re-establishment of wild salmon populations are being discussed. In the Daugava River system, suitable spawning and rearing habitat remains upstream two dams and an associated large reservoir in a mainstem tributary, the Ogre River, offering the potential to restore a wild salmon population. To explore the potential of a trap-and-transport solution to bring Atlantic salmon spawners in contact with remaining spawning grounds in the Daugava River system, spawners were caught, radio tagged, transported upstream of the two dams and the reservoir, and released to pursue their spawning migration in the tributary. Despite being unfamiliar with the river, some of the tagged spawners moved upstream, reaching areas up to 12 km from the release sites. Males were observed higher upstream in the river compared to females, and some males were tracked relatively close to potential salmon spawning habitat. Females, although displaying some movements in the lower parts of the river, were not observed close to any suitable spawning areas, highlighting potentially important sex differences in post trap-and-transport behaviour. Perhaps due to different responses to handling stress, such low post-transportation spawning success among females has the potential to negatively impact restoration efforts in the Daugava River system and elsewhere. The present study represents a first step towards the restoration of wild Daugava salmon, one of several unique Baltic Atlantic salmon populations, and a potential model for future restoration efforts.

The Daugava River is the largest river in Latvia. Daugava Hydro Power Plants built in 1939 – 1974 are Latvia's most important renewable resource in generation of electricity. The absence of fish passage structures excludes upstream migration of diadromous species. Compensatory stocking activities are introduced annually. The need for studying alternative or additional impact mitigation measures is based on biodiversity conservation aspects and possible changes in EU legislation. The case study of solutions for improving the Daugava River connectivity is introduced and further strategies for mitigating the impact of HPP are proposed in the paper.

In the context of new tools suitable for making local authorities more pro-active in terms of effectiveness in environmental management, this paper analyzes the case of the application of EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) to local authorities in Italy. EMAS is a European tool that was revised in 2009 with Regulation (EC) N. 1221/2009, named EMAS III. This paper has two goals. The first goal is to analyze how the local authorities, with an environmental management system registered under EMAS, evaluate the environmental aspects related to their activities. The second goal is to propose a set of specific indicators to be monitored, which would fulfill the EMAS III compulsory core-set of indicators. To do this all the EMAS registered public authorities in Italy have been contacted to obtain a copy of their most recent validated environmental statements. Then, for each environmental aspect considered, a matrix has been processed, reporting on related activities, environmental significance, indicators, and environmental targets to improve the performance of the EMS. The analysed environmental statements (75% response rate) deal with a high number of environmental aspects and refer to a wide range of activities carried out by the local authorities. The set of indicators demonstrates that registered local authorities have already enough information for the purpose of complying with the new EMAS III core indicators. On the contrary, EMAS III does not properly cover the several environmental issues and impacts faced by local authorities, so that a different, wider and more specific framework is needed for their environmental performance evaluation. As a result of this study, a set of 13 indicators has been proposed, based on those already in use by local authorities and on those used by the European Environment Agency for environmental assessments. Therefore, this paper can represent a first step towards the definition of sectorial reference guidelines that will be developed at the European level by the European Commission.

Fishways are hydraulic structures that allow passage of fish across obstructions in rivers. Vertical slot fishways—VSFs—are considered the most efficient and least selective type of technical fishway solutions, especially due to their ability to remain effective even when significant upstream and/or downstream water level fluctuations occur. The scope of the present study is to perform numerical simulations in order to investigate and compare the hydraulic turbulent flow field in a standard and a simplified version of the most common VSF design. Implications in relation to fish swimming behaviour and fish passage performance are discussed. Different water depths (as well as discharges) were investigated, using a bed slope of 5%, as a reference for low-gradient VSFs with a very limited selectivity that can be used in multispecies rivers in grayling-barbel regions. Results show that maximum values of velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, and Reynolds stresses are higher in the standard design. However, corresponding to slot geometry and orientation, the direction of the main jet in the simplified design is more inclined towards the left side of the pool. This causes the eddy to split into 2 smaller ones; the minimum eddy dimension is reduced from 0.4–0.5 to 0.2–0.3 m. These dimensions are detrimental for fish passage efficiency, being more comparable with fish length (0.15–0.40 m), thus affecting migrating fish stability and orientation. Furthermore, the standard design provides a more straightforward upstream path and wider areas of low flow velocities and turbulence, useful for fish resting. Therefore, it is recommended that the standard design should be preferred over its simplified version, even if its construction costs are around 10–15% higher than the simplified one.

Multicriteria analysis (MCA) is a decision-making tool applied to a wide range of environmental management problems, including renewable energy planning and management. An interesting field of application of MCA is the evaluation and analysis of the conflicting aspects of hydropower (HP) exploitation, affecting the three pillars of sustainability and involving several different stakeholders. The present study was aimed at reviewing the state of the art of MCA applications to sustainable hydropower production and related decision-making problems, based on a detailed analysis of the scientific papers published over the last 15 years on this topic. The papers were analysed and compared, focusing on the specific features of the MCA methods applied in the described case studies, highlighting the general aspects of the MCA application (purpose, spatial scale, software used, stakeholders, etc.) and the specific operational/technical features of the selected MCA technique (methodology, criteria, evaluation, approach, sensitivity, etc.). Some specific limitations of the analysed case studies were identified and a set of "quality indexes" of an exhaustive MCA application were suggested as potential improvements for more effectively support decision-making processes in sustainable HP planning and management problems.

This study aimed to set out a new methodology for habitat modeling in high-gradient streams. The methodology is based on the mesoscale approach of the MesoHABSIM simulation system and can support the definition and assessment of environmental flow and habitat restoration measures. Data from 40 study sites located within the mountainous areas of the Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte and Liguria regions (Northwest Italy) were used in the analysis. To adapt MesoHABSIM to high-gradient streams, we first modified the data collection strategy to address the challenging conditions of surveys by using GIS and mobile mapping techniques. Secondly, we built habitat suitability models at a regional scale to enable their transferability among different streams with different morphologies. Thirdly, due to the absence of stream gauges in headwaters, we proposed a possible way to simulate flow time series and, therefore, generate habitat time series. The resulting method was evaluated in terms of time expenditure for field data collection and habitat-modeling potentials, and it represents a specific improvement of the MesoHABSIM system for habitat modeling in high-gradient streams, where other commonly used methodologies can be unsuitable. Through its application at several study sites, the proposed methodology adapted well to high-gradient streams and allowed the: (1) definition of fish habitat requirements for many streams simultaneously, (2) modeling of habitat variation over a range of discharges, and (3) determination of environmental standards for mountainous watercourses.

In the context of water resources planning and management, the prediction of fish distribution related to habitat characteristics is fundamental for the definition of environmental flows and habitat restoration measures. In particular, threatened and endemic fish species should be the targets of biodiversity safeguard and wildlife conservation actions. The recently developed meso-scale habitat model (MesoHABSIM) can provide solutions in this sense by using multivariate statistical techniques to predict fish species distribution and to define habitat suitability criteria. In this research, Random Forests (RF) and Logistic Regressions (LR) models were used to predict the distribution of bullhead (Cottus gobio) as a function of habitat conditions. In ten reference streams of the Alps (NW Italy), 95 mesohabitats were sampled for hydro-morphologic and biological parameters, and RF and LR were used to distinguish between absence/presence and presence/abundance of fish. The obtained models were compared on the basis of their performances (model accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, Cohen’s kappa and area under ROC curve). Results indicate that RF outperformed LR, for both absence/presence (RF: 84 % accuracy, k = 0.58 and AUC = 0.88; LR: 78 % accuracy, k = 0.54 and AUC = 0.85) and presence/abundance models (RF: 79 % accuracy, k = 0.57 and AUC = 0.87; LR: 69 % accuracy, k = 0.43 and AUC = 0.81). The most important variables, selected in each model, are discussed and compared to the available literature. Lastly, results from models’ application in regulated sites are presented to show the possible use of RF in predicting habitat availability for fish in Alpine streams.

Summary The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is a critically endangered species, and one major threat is the survival of silver eels migrating downstream towards the sea from lake and river rearing areas. During this migration, many eels are impinged and die on intake racks, or are injured or killed when passing through turbines. Intake racks at a hydroelectric plant were modified to avoid impingement and to collect eels without injury; high mortality on both racks and in turbines was previously documented. Modifications consisted of reducing the rack gap width from 20 to 18 mm, decreasing the rack slope from 63 to 35 degrees, increasing the rack surface area by 58% and installing six openings in the rack leading to traps. Downstream passage conditions for silver eels at the hydroelectric plant were significantly improved, reducing mortality from >70% at the old steep 20 mm racks to

The purpose of this paper is to review and present a short synthesis of the scientific literature on Ecolabel and an analysis of the types of products and services in Romania that obtained this environmental label. European eco-label is the only environmental quality label (type I; ISO 14024), awarded at institutional level (EC) valid all around the Europe, and it represents a unique opportunity to satisfy consumer expectations. In this way is promotes the design, production and marketing of products with lower environmental impact during their entire life cycle compared to other products in the same category. The EU Ecolabel covers a wide range of product groups, from major areas of manufacturing to tourist accommodation services. Key experts, in consultation with main stakeholders, develop the criteria for each product group in order to decrease the main environmental impacts over the entire life cycle of the product. Because the life cycle of every product and service is different, the criteria are tailored to address the unique characteristics of each product type. The European Ecolabel was introduced in Romania in 2002.

The ecological effectiveness and success of river restoration strongly depend on the resources invested in planning. Unfortunately, this trend of restoration engineering is frequently compromised by the application of qualitative assessment and resource intensive adaptive management processes. Habitat simulation models are effective tools for selecting ecologically effective restoration measures as part of the Environmental Benefits Analysis. Through the support from a mesohabitat simulation model, we identified three habitat metrics: (1) Habitat Quantity Deficiency; (2) Alteration of Habitat Structure; and (3) Habitat Stress Days Alteration to quantify and visualize differences between restoration options in Restoration Alternatives Assessment diagram. This concept of quantifying habitat models is supported by an example of application in the Wekepeke Brook in Massachusetts, in which the habitat metrics were used to define quantitative benchmarks, goals and targets to guide the restoration process from the design to the evaluation phase. The three habitat metrics are a cost effective alternative for evaluating the ecological benefits of a planned action. The methodology contributes to a high potential for designing and monitoring restoration projects.

Summary The present study aimed at defining and testing a simple and widely applicable management tool, based on already available or easily collectable data, which could allow Watershed Authorities to prioritize the interventions for river longitudinal connectivity restoration, reopening fish migration routes. The proposed priority indices for fish passes are based on obstacle characteristics, length of the potential reopened reach and fish species distribution and migratory behaviour. The indices were applied to two Italian watersheds (Arno and Magra Rivers) covering a total river length of more than 400 km. The priority lists produced by the application can function as a first step in defining a watershed restoration plan and could help the Watershed Authorities to address the available resources towards more detailed studies to be carried out at sites classified with the higher priority levels. This is the case of the Regional Natural Park Monte Marcello-Magra, where, within a recently funded LIFE+ project (P.A.R.C. –‘Petromyzon And River Continuity’), the first results of the priority indices application will be analyzed in greater detail and will consequently lead to the design and construction of fish passes to restore fish migration routes with a particular focus on sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).

In the context of water resources planning, this work defined a possible approach to quantify minimum environmental flows (e-flows) at a regional scale. Focusing on catchments smaller than 50 km2, the problem was addressed through mesoscale habitat models and a catchment classification technique (regression tree algorithm). Within the Piedmont region in NW Italy, 25 reference streams were chosen on the basis of the natural condition of the flow regime and fish community. Mesohabitats were sampled for hydromorphic and fish parameters following the mesoscale habitat models approach. Logistic regression models, along with 55 habitat descriptors, were then used to build multivariate habitat suitability criteria, identifying the habitat characteristics mostly used by the target fish species. These models were applied to each stream reach and used to classify each mesohabitat into suitability categories. The reference minimum discharge for each stream was derived from habitat–flow rating curves. Finally, to define the regional criteria, the study domain was split according to the regression tree classification, defining homogenous sub-regions distinct on both e-flows and catchment/stream characteristics. This bottom–up approach used a catchment classification technique based on the environmental requirements of the fish communities and demonstrated potentials for further applications to defining e-flows at regional scales. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Size-dependent mortality of migratory silver eels at a hydropower plant, and implications for escapement to the sea

Prediction of low flows in ungauged catchments is needed in many branches of water resources management, including water availability and river ecology studies. In this paper we analyze the regional variability of q 95, i.e., the specific discharge that is exceeded 95% of the time, in North-Western Italy (Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta Regions). Multiple regressions with morphoclimatic catchment characteristics are applied in subregions obtained through four classification methods: Seasonality Indices (SI), Classification and Regression Trees (CRT), Residual Pattern Approach (RPA) and Weighted Cluster Analysis (WCA). All the classification methods separate the South-Eastern Apennine-Mediterranean area from the rest of the study domain (the Alps mountain range), even if they use different criteria to carry out this division (e.g., the percentage of forest, seasonality of low flows, combination of several parameters). In the Apennine-Mediterranean part of the area, low flows occur in summer with a long period of drought and are mainly due to dry climate, moderate snowpack storage and high evapotranspiration. In Alpine catchments low flows occur in winter and vary according to precipitation, elevation, interactions with aquifers and land cover. Within the Alpine mountain range the CRT algorithm identifies a number of small high-elevation catchments in which the intense drought period during winter has the soil freezing processes as the driving force. From a statistical point of view, the CRT model outperforms the models obtained by the other classification techniques in terms of explained variance (69%). Because of this, and given the meaningful hydrological interpretation of the results, we use the CRT model for the regionalization of q 95 in Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta. Lastly, as operational procedure for future low flow regionalization studies, we suggest that more classification methods should be applied to assist the critical analysis of the results.

Problem statement: Mining operations are strategic and essential industrial activities which rely on the use of non renewable natural resources, causing several relevant interactions with the environment. Approach: The need to perform in compliance with even more stringent environmental legislation and to satisfy different stakeholders demands and pressures, is progressively leading the mining sector towards the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS). However scientific literature outlined a relevant research gap in the absence of specific technical guidelines to facilitate such voluntary environmentally responsible approach in the different sectors of mining. Results: Therefore the present study was focused on the extraction of construction aggregates from gravel pit lakes, sector characterized by peculiar operations and related environmental problems. Through the analysis of representative sites (located in Piedmont Region-NW Italy), where the environmental components of the interested territories, the equipments used and operations carried out, the main legal requirements, the environmental problems and monitoring systems were examined, the research identified environmental problems and practices which could be considered common to this sector and be taken into account during the EMS implementation. In particular the study, with reference to the ISO 14001 requirements, focused on the analysis and monitoring of the environmental aspects and to the identification of specific operational and monitoring procedures which should be defined by the organization within the EMS. Conclusion: Therefore the main results of the research presented in this study supplied specific technical elements to be used by the companies operating gravel pit lakes for a correct and exhaustive EMS implementation and represented a new contribution for a more widespread adoption of ISO 14001 in the mining sector.

Habitat simulation models are effective tools which can be used to estimate spatial and temporal habitat availability for aquatic organisms, and to design and evaluate habitat restoration actions. Based on the meso-scale resolution, the present work proposes two indices to evaluate the spatial and temporal alteration of instream habitats. Firstly, the Index of Habitat Quantity (IHQ) describes the relative amount of habitat loss due to flow diversion, and, secondly, the Index of Habitat Stress Days (IHSD) measures the increase of continuous duration of events when habitat bottlenecks create stress to the fauna. Two case studies from the mountainous areas of Northern Italy are presented as applicatory examples. The achieved results indicate that (i) the meso-scale can be considered an appropriate scale resolution to link fish habitat requirements to fluvial morphological characteristics, and (ii) the proposed indices are flexible tools since they can capture both spatial and temporal alterations of habitat structure and can be applied to different kind of pressures (e.g., hydropower generation, hydropeaking).

On October 13–16th, 2000 heavy rainfalls in the Northwestern Italian Alps caused huge flooding and landslides with significant damages to houses and infrastructures and several life losses. In this paper a description of the main events that affected Valle d'Aosta's region and the subsequent land planning measures adopted for the risk mitigation are presented. After a first meteorological and hydrological framing, based on the data of the regional monitoring system (that pointed out rainfalls up to 236 mm in 24 h also in high‐altitude zones, because of the rise of the isotherm 0°C around 3000 m above sea level), the main effects of the event (extensive flooding, landslides, soil slips and debris flows) in the regional catchment of the Dora Baltea river are described. Through aerial and direct surveys those effects have been transferred into a thematic cartography within two months from the event, in order to have detailed elements for the technical, administrative and political land planning deci...

The changing spatial distribution of a river's physical attributes due to flow variations and the aquatic species' biological response to these changes is the cornerstone for simulating habitat alterations and designing the respective restoration measures. MesoHABSIM is a modification of micro-scale models to support effective simulation of large spatial extents of riverscapes. It offers advantages, such as the incorporation of multivariate physical habitat attributes for entire fish communities and the habitat based assessment of hydrological time series. The model has been developed over the past decade and is applied broadly at the international level. This paper describes the application of MesoHABSIM and illustrates the methodology through examples of successful applications

Local authorities are showing an increasing interest in implementing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) according to ISO 14001/EMAS as a tool for better dealing with their environmental issues. However, to improve the status of an environmental component or the efficiency of an environmental service often exceeds the boundaries and the competences of a single municipality; furthermore EMS implementation can require significant human and financial resources which could not be faced by small organizations. In order to cope with the above problems a methodology for implementing an EMS in a cluster of municipalities is presented, with the aim of exploiting the possible synergies for sharing knowledge and resources and creating scaleeconomies to better deal with the environmental issues of the whole territory, both at cluster and at single municipality level. The proposed method was tested in a cluster of 33 small municipalities located in NW Italy, leading to the ISO 14001/EMAS certification of each organization. In this study the main methodological steps for implementing the proposed cluster approach and some significant outcomes of its application in the case study are presented.

Technical improvements to ameliorate downstream passage for diadromous fish have rarely been evaluated in regulated rivers in northern Europe. The current study evaluated rehabilitative measures for downstream migrating Atlantic salmon, brown trout and European eel at a hydroelectric plant in southern Sweden. Smolts ( N = 66), kelts ( N = 20) and silver eels ( N = 55) were caught, radio-tagged and tracked whilst passing the facilities in spring (salmonids) and fall (eels) of 2007. A surface gate in combination with a 90 mm-spaced turbine intake rack had a fish guidance efficiency ranging from no effect for eels and trout smolts to 58% for trout kelts. A siphon discharging water from the bottom of the same 90 mm rack did not bypass any tagged fish, and only a few untagged eels. The poor function of the measures was attributed to the failure of the rack to stop smolts and eels from entering the turbines. The kelts, on the other hand, could not pass through the rack, and instead took a long time to locate the surface bypass entrance. The conditions for downstream migrating fish have improved at the hydroelectric plant, but the total losses remain quite high for the studied groups (10–67%), and there is a need for a new rehabilitative measure that effectively allows all fish to bypass the turbines.

The relationship between EMS implementation and environmental performances improvement is subject to increasing interest by international researchers but results obtained so far are not univocal. A critical issue is that ISO 14001 does not require companies to reach minimum levels of environmental performances (apart from legal compliance) nor does it supply methods to be used to measure continual improvement. A questionnaire-based survey on a sample of companies in NW Italy was carried out with the aim of investigating which operational performance indicators (according to ISO 14031) are used in their EMS, whether EMS implementation has contributed to an increased commitment towards environmental performance and what the entity of the achieved improvements is. The sample was made up of companies belonging to the same industrial sector (automotive) and with a consolidated EMS (ISO 14001 certified for at least three years). Results highlight that various environmental aspects are monitored in the EMS by means of a rather large number of indicators, but the most detailed ones (relative indicators) mainly refer to aspects where performances improvement means cost reductions (waste management and use of resources). The EMS implementation increases the number of companies committed (mean increase: 108.7%), as well as the number of environmental aspects involved and determines higher investments towards environmental improvement. The quantification of the improvements achieved was only provided by a limited number of companies, but data show that EMS determined positive effects in the environmental performances, although with highly heterogeneous values, varying from +16.9% (use of resources) to +42.7% (releases to water). For future research activities we recommend tailoring the sample of certified companies, limiting its scope to companies with a consolidated EMS and, where possible, to EMAS registered companies, in order to deal with publicly available validated data trends. Finally, in order to improve EMS efficiency, we recommend that companies carry out a specific design phase, in accordance with ISO 14031, aimed at identifying a proper set of indicators to adequately assess and monitor their environmental performances.

Local authorities have an important role in improving the quality of life of their citizens by managing environmental and social issues for a sustainable development of the territory. While an increasing number of municipalities are implementing Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001-EMAS) to manage their environ- mental issues, standardised tools for social ones are still lacking. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for developing an Integrated Environmental and Social Management System through the inclusion of SA 8000 (Social Accountability) requirements with an innovative focus on citizens’ information and consultation and highlights the main outcomes of its application in a small Italian municipality.