Ecosystem Services, Values, and Societal Perceptions of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams

Koundouri, Phoebe; Boulton, Andrew J.; Datry, Thibault; Souliotis, Ioannis

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-803835-2.00018-8

Cited by 31 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Developed to incorporate socio‐economic knowledge into environmental management, the ecosystem services concept may account for the value that a designed environmental flow regime provides to human well‐being (Jorda‐Capdevila & Rodríguez‐Labajos, ). The unpredictable character of temporary waterways and the distinction among phases provide additional values not accounted for in permanent rivers (Steward et al, ), such as the use of the dry river bed for cultural activities or the corridor for mammals appreciated by hunters (Sánchez‐Montoya, Moleón, Sánchez‐Zapata, & Tockner, ), but also interrupts the service provision—temporally and spatially—and complicates its evaluation (Koundouri, Boulton, Datry, & Souliotis, ).…”

Section: Methodological Approaches To Design Eflows In Temporary Watementioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for flow intermittency in environmental flows design

Acuña

Jordà-Capdevila

Vezza

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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River ecosystems world‐wide are affected by altered flow regimes, and advanced science and practice of environmental flows have been developed to understand and reduce these impacts. But most environmental flows approaches ignore flow intermittency, which is a natural feature of 30% of the global river network length. Ignoring flow intermittency when setting environmental flows in naturally intermittent rivers might lead to deleterious ecological effects. We review evidence of the ecological effects of flow intermittency and provide guidance to incorporate intermittency (non‐flow events) into existing methods judged as suitable for application in temporary waterways. To better integrate non‐flow events into hydrological methods, we propose a suite of new indicators to be used in the range of variability approach. These indicators reflect dry periods and the unpredictable nature of temporary waterways. We develop a predictability index for protecting those species adapted to temporary conditions. For hydraulic‐habitat models, we find that mesohabitat methods are particularly effective for describing complex habitat dynamics during dry phases. We present an example of the European eel to show the relationship between discharge and non‐flow days and wet area, habitat suitability and connectivity. We find that existing holistic approaches may be applied to temporary waterways without significant structural alteration to their stepwise frameworks, but new component methods are needed to address flow‐related aspects across both flow and non‐flow periods of the flow regime. Synthesis and applications. Setting environmental flow requirements for temporary waterways requires modification and enhancement of existing approaches and methodologies, most notably the explicit consideration of non‐flow events and greater integration of specific geomorphic, hydrogeologic and hydraulic elements. Temporary waterways are among the freshwater ecosystems most vulnerable to alterations in flow regimes, and they are also under great pressure. The methodological modifications recommended in this paper will aid water managers in protecting key components of temporary flow regimes, thereby preserving their unique ecology and associated services.

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Section: Methodological Approaches To Design Eflows In Temporary Watementioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for flow intermittency in environmental flows design

Acuña

Jordà-Capdevila

Vezza

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…However, most of these services are not always manifested and used within the same location or timeframes (Gilvear et al, 2013). Even though many ES in freshwater systems are dependent on flow (Willaarts, Volk, & Aguilera, 2012) a large number of environmental functions in IRES extend during the dry period, providing regulating and supporting services such as erosion regulation and alleviating flooding during storm events Koundouri, Boulton, Datry, & Souliotis, 2017). Even though many ES in freshwater systems are dependent on flow (Willaarts, Volk, & Aguilera, 2012) a large number of environmental functions in IRES extend during the dry period, providing regulating and supporting services such as erosion regulation and alleviating flooding during storm events Koundouri, Boulton, Datry, & Souliotis, 2017).…”

Section: The Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A better understanding of what, when, and where are ecosystems services provided is cardinal to conserve and enhance them. However, knowledge of the influence of alternating dry and wet conditions on the ecosystem processes that produce ES is still scarce Koundouri et al, 2017). However, knowledge of the influence of alternating dry and wet conditions on the ecosystem processes that produce ES is still scarce Koundouri et al, 2017).…”

Section: The Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A better understanding of what, when, and where are ecosystems services provided is cardinal to conserve and enhance them. Even though many ES in freshwater systems are dependent on flow (Willaarts, Volk, & Aguilera, 2012) a large number of environmental functions in IRES extend during the dry period, providing regulating and supporting services such as erosion regulation and alleviating flooding during storm events Koundouri, Boulton, Datry, & Souliotis, 2017). However, knowledge of the influence of alternating dry and wet conditions on the ecosystem processes that produce ES is still scarce Koundouri et al, 2017).…”

Section: Net and Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though many ES in freshwater systems are dependent on flow (Willaarts, Volk, & Aguilera, 2012) a large number of environmental functions in IRES extend during the dry period, providing regulating and supporting services such as erosion regulation and alleviating flooding during storm events Koundouri, Boulton, Datry, & Souliotis, 2017). However, knowledge of the influence of alternating dry and wet conditions on the ecosystem processes that produce ES is still scarce Koundouri et al, 2017). Altered flows may also be beneficial to local communities through the provision of additional/new services such as flood protection, water provisioning, and aquifer recharge to sustain rural and agricultural communities.…”

Section: Net and Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mediterranean intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: Challenges in monitoring complexity

et al. 2019

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In most cases, intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES) form the principal surface water bodies in Mediterranean regions and people are heavily dependent on them. Strong reliance on such streams results in numerous pressures, and complex relationships are formed between their various natural and anthropogenic components, which creates numerous challenges to decision-makers who require a better understanding of IRES to establish effective measures to restore ecosystem functionality and implement changes, while maintaining human well-being. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework that identifies process cascades and links to identify the variables governing Mediterranean IRES and map their complex interrelations.Climate is the main external driver, and it affects IRES through precipitation, temperature, wind action, and geomorphic factors, which in turn influence the physical and biological attributes of IRES. Monitoring challenges and knowledge gaps are presented from the conceptual framework, highlighting the need to identify solutions for the monitoring and mapping the spatio-temporal variability of flow regimes and their influence on bio-physical variables and mapping and quantifying ecosystem services for integrated environmental management. Finally, we argue that remote sensing techniques, specifically, the combined use of unmanned aerial vehicles and structure from motion photogrammetry, are key to bridging gaps in understanding and meeting the challenges of managing Mediterranean IRES.

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Effects of stream drying, season, and distance to refuge on macroinvertebrate community structure in an arid intermittent stream basin

Hollien,

Gill,

Eppehimer

et al. 2023

Ecohydrology

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Intermittent streams are globally ubiquitous and represent a large percentage of stream networks. As climate change in many arid regions increases the frequency and intensity of drying disturbances, it is important to understand how aquatic biota will respond to such disturbances and how it would impact aquatic biodiversity. To address these topics, we sampled 10 stream reaches in the Sycamore Creek basin, an arid‐land stream in central Arizona (USA), with reach‐scale flow regimes ranging from perennial to highly intermittent. We sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates during 4 seasons to explore seasonal variability in community structure through flowing and drying phases. We also collected continuous flow data with remote data loggers to explore the impacts of intermittency and distance to perennial refuges on species richness, taxonomic composition and trait composition. Overall, richness was lower at intermittent reaches than perennial reaches, and richness values increased linearly as flow duration increased. We found no relationship between richness and distance to the nearest perennial refuge. Community assemblages differed significantly by season but were not distinct between perennial and intermittent reaches. Trait composition was also distinct between seasons and flow regimes, with traits such as a lack of diapause, longer life span and predatory feeding behaviours being indicators for perennial reaches. As climate change alters natural flow regimes, understanding the responses of macroinvertebrate community structure to drying disturbances in arid‐land streams can provide insight on aquatic community responses to climate change at larger scales.

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Ecosystem Services, Values, and Societal Perceptions of Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams

Cited by 31 publications

References 68 publications

Accounting for flow intermittency in environmental flows design

Accounting for flow intermittency in environmental flows design

Mediterranean intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams: Challenges in monitoring complexity

Effects of stream drying, season, and distance to refuge on macroinvertebrate community structure in an arid intermittent stream basin

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