Methods for biological assessment of salt-loaded running waters – fundamentals, current positions and perspectives

Ziemann, Horst; Schulz, Claus-Jürgen

doi:10.1016/j.limno.2010.09.005

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…In addition, we consider that horizontal precipitation may contribute to maintain the volume of the discharges during August. Our results are in agreement with the findings by Ziemann & Schulz (2011) in terms of the strength of the interaction between salinity and other abiotic parameters influencing the responses of organisms.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Saline waters and macroinvertebrates in subtropical Andean streams

Achem

Rolandi²,

Fernández³

2015

Ecol. Austral

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Salinity of rivers is an expression of the concentration of salts dissolved in the water body. Secondary salinization is the increase in salinity of a water body as a result of human activity. Salinity may restrict the species composition of aquatic biota to tolerant species. In this study we analyzed benthic communities and their relationship with physicochemical variables in natural pristine systems and impacted environments. We collected benthic community samples using a D-net and water samples for laboratory major ions analysis. We noted a critical limit of electrical conductivity above 800µS/cm breaking up taxa pools of benthic macroinvertebrates. We observed that taxonomic richness is a sensitive indicator to detect effects of secondary salinization. We hypothesized that the monsoonal precipitation regime of the studied region is an important driver of environmental conditions for the benthic fauna since it regulates the concentration of major ions. The evidence collected shows that seasonal rainfall may affect differentially the benthic communities of Andean streams, improving the equitability below 800µS/cm in saline sites while changing the community structure from equitable to one dominated by a certain taxa in less saline locations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Saline waters and macroinvertebrates in subtropical Andean streams

Achem

Rolandi²,

Fernández³

2015

Ecol. Austral

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“…However, it is constructed based on the premise that increased exposures will lead to increased effects . Indeed, if the salinity of a fresh aquatic environment increases, the organisms living in the system will be negatively affected. ,− However, negative effects in aquatic ecosystems are also reported when salinity decreases, such as massive mortalities reported after exposure to low salt concentrations due to climatologic events or anthropogenic actions. ,, Moreover, some limitations of SSD curves to model ecotoxic impacts due to salinity have been pointed out, and other indicators, such as species richness, have been proposed for studies assessing the effects of salinity …”

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the Impact of Salinity Variations on Aquatic Environments: Including Negative and Positive Effects in Life Cycle Assessment

Roibás-Rozas

Núñez

Mosquera-Corral

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Salinity is changing in aquatic systems due to anthropogenic activities (like irrigation or dam management) and climate change. Although there are studies on the effects of salinity variations on individual species, little is known about the effects on overall ecosystems, these impacts being more uncertain in transitional waters such as estuaries or fiords. The few works that do address this topic have considered these impacts using ecotoxicity models. However, these models state that an increase in the concentration of a pollutant generates an increase in the impacts, disregarding the effects of water freshening. The present research work introduces a general framework to address the impacts of salinity variations, including emission-related positive effects. We validated this framework by applying it to an estuarine area in Galicia (northwestern Spain), where sharp drops in the salt concentration have caused mass mortalities of shellfish in recent decades. This research work addresses for the first time the potential effects on the environment derived from a decrease in the concentration of essential substances, where the effects of an emission can also generate positive impacts. Moreover, it is expected that the framework can also be applied to model the environmental impacts of other essential substances in life cycle assessment (LCA), such as metals and macronutrients.

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“…There is clearly a need to determine causal relationships rather than just rely upon correlations between salinity parameters and biological metrics. Challenges when assessing the biological effects of salinity are discussed in more detail by Ziemann and Schulz (2011).…”

Section: Use Of Field Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Warding off freshwater salinization: Do current criteria measure up?

Kelly,

Free,

Kolada

et al. 2023

WIREs Water

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Salinization is a global threat to freshwater habitats that has been intensified by climate change. Monitoring, assessment and management of salinity is therefore essential. The first step is to set criteria that are sufficiently stringent to protect ecosystem health. However, many countries have not yet defined criteria, and there are substantial differences between criteria. This has been noted in the EU, where salinity is a required “supporting element” for ecological status in inland waters but also for implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 6.3.2. for “good ambient water quality” where different approaches and widely different threshold values were reported for salinity criteria. Much of this information has not been published and is difficult to access, hindering further efforts to address the problem. We first discuss the implications of salinization for freshwater ecological health. We go on to discuss the principles and guidelines on how salinity criteria to protect ecology should be established. Next, we review salinity criteria submitted as part of implementation of SDG indicator 6.3.2 and the EU Water Framework Directive. Finally, we discuss setting salinity thresholds in an already‐warming world and the challenges facing anyone trying to develop salinity criteria to protect freshwater ecosystems.This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on Ecosystems Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness Science of Water > Water Quality

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Methods for biological assessment of salt-loaded running waters – fundamentals, current positions and perspectives

Cited by 13 publications

References 29 publications

Saline waters and macroinvertebrates in subtropical Andean streams

Saline waters and macroinvertebrates in subtropical Andean streams

Modeling the Impact of Salinity Variations on Aquatic Environments: Including Negative and Positive Effects in Life Cycle Assessment

Warding off freshwater salinization: Do current criteria measure up?

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