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Least Disturbed Condition for European Mediterranean rivers

TitleLeast Disturbed Condition for European Mediterranean rivers
Publication TypeArticolo su Rivista peer-reviewed
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsFeio, M.J., Aguiar F.C., Almeida S.F.P., Ferreira J., Ferreira M.T., Elias C., Serra S.R.Q., Buffagni A., Cambra J., Chauvin C., Delmas F., Dörflinger G., Erba S., Flor N., Ferréol M., Germ M., Mancini L., Manolaki P., Marcheggiani S., Minciardi Maria Rita, Munné A., Papastergiadou E., Prat N., Puccinelli C., Rosebery J., Sabater S., Ciadamidaro S., Tornés E., Tziortzis I., Urbanič G., and Vieira C.
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume476-477
Pagination745-756
ISSN00489697
KeywordsAgriculture, Ammonia, Animals, article, Bacillariophyta, Biodiversity, biological characteristics, Catchments, comparative study, diatom, Diatoms, dissolved oxygen, ecosystem, Environmental monitoring, Environmental parameters, Environmental stress, Filter banks, freshwater environment, geomorphology, hydrology, Invertebrata, invertebrate, Invertebrates, Land use, least disturbed condition, Least-disturbed conditions, macrophyte, Macrophytes, maximum allowable concentration, Mediterranean region, Mediterranean rivers, nitrate, Nitrates, nonhuman, nutrient content, organic pollutant, organic pollution, oxygenation, phosphate, Phytoplankton, priority journal, Quality control, riparian ecosystem, river ecosystem, River pollution, river system, Rivers, Runoff, Southern Europe, species identification, Standardization, stream (river), streamwater, surface water hydrology, Threshold, Thresholds, Vegetation, Water analysis, water oxygenation, Water pollution, Water quality, water supply
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. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

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URLhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84896695919&doi=10.1016%2fj.scitotenv.2013.05.056&partnerID=40&md5=abc1e8fa88ce7a30173b78419b731971
DOI10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.05.056
Citation KeyFeio2014745