Search

Areas with minimal anthropogenic influences are frequently used as reference sites and represent the best ecological state available in a region. Streams in such conditions are necessary for evaluating the conservation status of aquatic ecosystems of a region and to monitor them, taking natural environmental variability into consideration. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to analyse whether hydrological units are reliable regional units for aggregating reference sites. To this end, reference sites were studied in three different landscape units of the same hydrological unit. The study tested the hypothesis that water quality, physical habitat structure and the composition and structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages will be more similar for sites in the same landscape unit than for sites located in different landscape units in the same hydrological unit. The study showed that taxonomic richness and composition of the macroinvertebrate assemblages were negatively affected by site slope and positively affected by the presence of leaf packs on the streambed. The three landscape units supported significantly different macroinvertebrate assemblages and indicator taxa. Therefore, a hydrological unit does not constitute a homogeneous entity in terms of environmental variables and biological composition if it incorporates high landscape heterogeneity. These results should improve and facilitate the selection of reference sites for biomonitoring programs and for managing tropical headwater streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The present report describes a three-step approach that was used to characterize and define thresholds for the Least Disturbed Condition in Mediterranean streams of four different types, regarding organic pollution and nutrients, hydrological and morphological alterations, and land use. For this purpose, a common database composed of national reference sites (929 records) from seven countries, sampled for invertebrates, diatoms and macrophytes was used. The analyses of reference sites showed that small (catchment <100km2) siliceous and non-siliceous streams were mainly affected by channelization, bank alteration and hydropeaking. Medium-sized siliceous rivers were the most affected by stressors: 25–43% of the samples showed at least slight alterations regarding channelization, connectivity, upstream dam influence, hydropeaking and degradation of riparian vegetation. Temporary streams were the least affected by hydromorphological changes, but they were nevertheless affected by alterations in riparian vegetation. There were no major differences between all permanent stream types regarding water quality, but temporary streams showed lower values for oxygenation (DO) and wider ranges for other variables, such as nitrates. A lower threshold value for DO (60%) was determined for this stream type and can be attributed to the streams' natural characteristics. For all other river types, common limits were found for the remaining variables (ammonium, nitrate, phosphate, total P, % of artificial areas, % of intensive and extensive agriculture, % of semi-natural areas in the catchment). These values were then used to select the list of reference sites. The biological communities were characterized, revealing the existence of nine groups of Mediterranean invertebrate communities, six for diatoms and five for macrophytes: each group was characterized by specific indicator taxa that highlighted the differences between groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

1. International river catchments pose challenges for effective water resource management. Catchment-wide strategies are often complicated by differences in national bioassessment and quality classification. Intercalibration efforts aim to harmonise these differences, but rely on the consistent delineation of near-natural reference sites that are almost unavailable in today's landscape, especially for large rivers. 2. We introduce the concept of alternative benchmarking that is based on the notion of aquatic communities at similar (low) levels of impairment associated with least-disturbed conditions (LDC) as defined by abiotic criteria. Using data acquired during the second Joint Danube Survey, we defined LDC sites based on a multivariate gradient of anthropogenic pressures, mostly related to morphological deterioration, that spans the entire navigable Danube. 3. The river was subdivided into four stretches, each featuring homogeneous biological assemblages. Indirect gradient analysis revealed relationships between the pressure gradient and selected features of the macroinvertebrate and macrophyte community but not for diatoms or phytoplankton. 4. We identified biological metrics suitable for the quality classification of individual stretches or the entire river. Impoundment is the major hydromorphological alteration on the Danube but various metrics still responded significantly to differences in the morphological condition of sites not affected by impoundment. 5. A comparison of macroinvertebrate sampling techniques (airlift versus kick-and-sweep) revealed differences in how the acquired data reflect the effects of anthropogenic pressure. Biological metrics based only on kick-and-sweep sample data were insensitive to habitat deterioration in the heavily modified Upper Danube. 6. This study exemplifies the empirical approach of alternative benchmarking in intercalibration and offers practical solutions to some of the challenges of large river bioassessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A physical, chemical and biological characterization of river systems is needed to evaluate their ecological quality and support restoration programs. Herein, we describe an approach using water chemistry, physical structure and land use for identification of a disturbance gradient existing in the Karun River Basin. For this purpose, at each site, physical structure and physico-chemical data were collected once in each season for a total of 4 samples during the period (October 2018 - September 2019). Principal components analysis (PCA) of 17 variables identified five variables that were influential across all seasons: conductivity, total habitat score, stream morphology, clay & silt, and sand. Of the 54 sites, 14, 26 and 14 sites were classified as least, moderate and most disturbed sites, respectively. The metric Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) taxa was used for validation of the classification. Results in different seasons showed that all the least disturbed sites (n=14) were significantly different from moderate and most disturbed sites (p < 0.01). In this study the validation process presented a good confirmation of a priori reference sites selection process, showing that the proposed criteria could be considered as appropriate tools for characterization of the existent disturbance gradient in the Karun River Basin.