Undamming Rivers: A Review of the Ecological Impacts of Dam Removal

Bednarek, Angela T.

doi:10.1007/s002670010189

Cited by 539 publications

(396 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Leftover funds were not carried over to other planning regions or time periods. Last, constraints [4] specify that all barrier mitigation decision variables must be binary.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination

Neeson

Ferris

Diebel

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

141

151

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In many large ecosystems, conservation projects are selected by a diverse set of actors operating independently at spatial scales ranging from local to international. Although small-scale decision making can leverage local expert knowledge, it also may be an inefficient means of achieving large-scale objectives if piecemeal efforts are poorly coordinated. Here, we assess the value of coordinating efforts in both space and time to maximize the restoration of aquatic ecosystem connectivity. Habitat fragmentation is a leading driver of declining biodiversity and ecosystem services in rivers worldwide, and we simultaneously evaluate optimal barrier removal strategies for 661 tributary rivers of the Laurentian Great Lakes, which are fragmented by at least 6,692 dams and 232,068 road crossings. We find that coordinating barrier removals across the entire basin is nine times more efficient at reconnecting fish to headwater breeding grounds than optimizing independently for each watershed. Similarly, a one-time pulse of restoration investment is up to 10 times more efficient than annual allocations totaling the same amount. Despite widespread emphasis on dams as key barriers in river networks, improving road culvert passability is also essential for efficiently restoring connectivity to the Great Lakes. Our results highlight the dramatic economic and ecological advantages of coordinating efforts in both space and time during restoration of large ecosystems.

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“…Leftover funds were not carried over to other planning regions or time periods. Last, constraints [4] specify that all barrier mitigation decision variables must be binary.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Landscape corridors and dam removals are popular and effective strategies for mitigating fragmentation (4,5). To implement these projects efficiently, societies around the world are developing regional and even continental-scale plans for restoring ecosystem connectivity (6).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination

Neeson

Ferris

Diebel

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

141

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One-off projects have identified barriers for fish-passage restoration in the MDB, such as the 'Sea to Hume Dam' program in the River Murray (Barrett 2008) and assessments of some catchments in New South Wales (NSW DPI 2006), although systematic programs are lacking. To comprehensively address this issue, Australian governments need to adopt periodic water-infrastructure re-licensing laws to meet safety standards to manage more extreme events from climate change (Pittock and Hartmann 2011), similar to those of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the USA (Bednarek 2001;Viers and Rheinheimer 2011). This could be the catalyst for removing redundant regulatory structures and retrofitting others with devices to reduce environmental impacts, including for climate change adaptation (e.g.…”

Section: Future Options For Freshwater Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australia's Murray - Darling Basin: freshwater ecosystem conservation options in an era of climate change

Pittock

Finlayson

2011

Mar. Freshwater Res.

194

114

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Abstract. River flows in the Murray-Darling Basin, as in many regions in the world, are vulnerable to climate change, anticipated to exacerbate current, substantial losses of freshwater biodiversity. Additional declines in water quantity and quality will have an adverse impact on existing freshwater ecosystems. We critique current river-management programs, including the proposed 2011 Basin Plan for Australia's Murray-Darling Basin, focusing primarily on implementing environmental flows. River management programs generally ignore other important conservation and adaptation measures, such as strategically located freshwater-protected areas. Whereas most river-basin restoration techniques help build resilience of freshwater ecosystems to climate change impacts, different measures to enhance resilience and reoperate water infrastructure are also required, depending on the degree of disturbance of particular rivers on a spectrum from free-flowing to highly regulated. A crucial step is the conservation of free-flowing river ecosystems where maintenance of ecological processes enhances their capacity to resist climate change impacts, and where adaptation may be maximised. Systematic alteration of the operation of existing water infrastructure may also counter major climate impacts on regulated rivers.

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“…Such reconnections influence water chemistry (Obolewski and Glińska-Lewczuk, 2011) but their influence on trace metal mobilization is not well studied. As the quality of water and sediment have been described to play a role in the success of river restoration projects (Bednarek, 2001), the characterization of physico-chemical parameters and trace metal distribution and partitioning along gradients of lateral and longitudinal connectivity is expected to provide valuable insights into the general geochemistry of floodplains and carries potential implications for river restoration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lateral and longitudinal patterns of water physico-chemistry and trace metal distribution and partitioning in a large river floodplain

Peter

Castella

2017

Science of The Total Environment

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• Distribution of trace metals in different floodplain water bodies is not well known.• Water, sediment, SPM and invertebrates from different types of water bodies were analyzed.• Trace metal partitioning varied between connected and disconnected sites.• Lateral gradient was more important than the longitudinal gradient.• Observed differences need to be considered in floodplain management. Floodplain water bodies provide habitat to diversified ecological communities. Floodplains are also among the most impacted aquatic ecosystems. While the link between the lateral connectivity of floodplain sites to the main channel and their plant, fish and invertebrate communities has been well established, detailed information on chemical characteristics and particularly on trace metal spatial distribution and partitioning is scarce. The aim of this study was to examine the link between the lateral connectivity and physico-chemical variables, their trace metal concentrations and partitioning as well as the upstream-downstream gradient of these parameters. In connected and disconnected water bodies of the Rhône River upstream and downstream of the city of Lyon, we measured major ions, dissolved organic carbon, trace metal concentrations (Al, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and U) in water, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediment. The results revealed a clear difference between connected and disconnected water bodies. pH, SPM, Na + , and NO 3 − concentrations were lower in disconnected sites while conductivity, DOC, Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ were higher. Conductivity and a part of the major ion concentrations increased in the downstream sections. Trace metal concentrations and partitioning varied between connected and disconnected sites. In the dissolved fraction, trace metal concentrations were higher in connected sites. In the surface sediment, concentrations were higher in disconnected sites for the majority of metals. The upstream-downstream gradient was less important than the connected-disconnected gradient. Only three metals in the dissolved fraction (Cu, Cd and Pb) showed a clear increase in downstream sections. Overall, the study shows that the functioning of floodplains produces strong spatial patterns concerning the concentrations and partitioning of trace metals. These findings improve our understanding of trace metal biogeochemistry in floodplains and have important applications for floodplain restoration projects. © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o

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Undamming Rivers: A Review of the Ecological Impacts of Dam Removal

Cited by 539 publications

References 46 publications

Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination

Enhancing ecosystem restoration efficiency through spatial and temporal coordination

Australia's Murray - Darling Basin: freshwater ecosystem conservation options in an era of climate change

Lateral and longitudinal patterns of water physico-chemistry and trace metal distribution and partitioning in a large river floodplain

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