Progress in understanding the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems

Abstract

The ability to collect and synthesize long-term environmental monitoring data is essential for the effective management of freshwater ecosystems. Progress has been made in assessment and monitoring approaches that have integrated routine monitoring programs into more holistic watershed-scale vulnerability assessments. While the concept of vulnerability assessment is well-defined for ecosystems, complementary and sometimes competing concepts of adaptive management, ecological integrity, and ecological condition complicate the communication of results to a broader audience. Here, we identify progress in freshwater assessments that can contribute to the identification and communication of freshwater vulnerability. We review novel methods that address common challenges associated with: 1) a lack of baseline information, 2) variability associated with a spatial context, and 3) the taxonomic sufficiency of biological indicators used to make inferences about ecological conditions. Innovation in methods and communication are discussed as a means to highlight meaningful cost-effective results that target policy towards heuristic ecosystem-management.

Macrobenthic Community Structure and Water Quality Evaluation in Ulungu River Basin (Northwest China)

“…Freshwater ecosystems are fragile [1], and water quality is an important factor related to freshwater ecological conditions and biodiversity [2]. At present, watershed development and anthropogenic pressure are increasingly causing the degradation of aquatic ecosystems [3], and changes in freshwater ecosystems will cause changes in the communities of fish, algae, and invertebrates in the water.…”